Donegal Deputy, Charles Ward, says Donegal is years behind the rest of the country in terms of healthcare and that ‘living in Donegal shouldn’t be the health risk that it currently is’.
He commented following a local report that Letterkenny University Hospital has the worst cancer treatment wait times in the west and north west.
Donegal Daily reported this week that a recent European Commission report had found that people in deprived areas of Ireland, such as the North West, faced, on average, a 43% higher risk of mortality within five years following cancer diagnosis.
The 100% Redress Party TD said: ‘It is an absolute disgrace that only 31 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients at Letterkenny University Hospital begin their cancer treatment within the recommended time of 15 working days. The people of Donegal deserve equal access to healthcare.’
The Deputy, who was a healthcare worker before being elected to the Dáil, urged the new Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, to come to Donegal and ‘turn Letterkenny University Hospital around’.
