Inishowen cancer care campaigner Roseena Doherty Toner will stage a second protest outside Letterkenny University Hospital this morning.
Clonmany resident Roseena, who is in remission from leukaemia, is calling for improved cancer care facilities in Letterkenny.
Roseena believes that a standalone cancer unit will play a role in improving cancer care and wait times in the north west.
Roseena staged her first protest at the hospital two weeks ago.
She said that a lack of correspondence to her campaign has prompted her to return to the gates today.
Roseena said she is frustrated by the lack of contact from the hospital management, the HSE or government.
“I haven’t heard from anybody,” Roseena shared online. “Nobody has reached out to say ‘we’ll try to help you, we’ll do this…’, nothing.”
Roseena is urging the public and local representatives to get behind her campaign.
She said: “I need to push this through the whole of Donegal, Councillors, TDs, they need to know what is going on.
“….we need to stand up and be counted, we are far too polite up here. It’s not okay to have to travel to Dublin.”
In a statement released on the day of Roseena’s initial protest, the HSE said that the “vision” for cancer infrastructure at LUH is to develop appropriate Ambulatory Cancer Facilities while a Cancer Centre is progressing at Galway University Hospital.
The HSE has said that LUH is immediately improving cancer treatment start times by using a designated area within the inpatient ward as a Day Unit extension for Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (SACT).
Last month it was revealed that less than a third (31%) of cancer patients are treated in the recommended timeframe of 15 working days at LUH. Ptients waiting on their first chemotherapy appointment at LUH face an average wait time of 22 working days.
The HSE says several challenges face all cancer care units. The rising incidence of cancer and more complex treatments have placed extra demand on services. Patient survival rates have also improved, which increases demand for cancer services in general and cancer treatments, particularly the Day Wards.
A statement said: “In order to address these challenges as effectively and as timely as possible LUH have established a working group comprised of the members of the Cancer MCAN management team and hospital clinical and management teams and have commenced measures to improve chemotherapy start times with the objective of returning performance to KPI targets within the shortest possible timeline.”
