Cancer care for child in Kerry
Deputy Daly described the exhausting treatment journey of a seven-year-old girl with cancer and asked for supports closer to home. The Minister said the case was heartbreaking, asked for the details directly and promised to see what can be done.
I raise the case of a seven-year-old girl from Tralee who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last July, seven days after her seventh birthday. She has been to Crumlin until Easter of this year and now is in shared maintenance care between Mercy University Hospital in Cork and University Hospital Kerry. She gets bloods in Kerry. She has to have her Hickman port dressed quickly and her mother, Lorraine, administers chemo three times per week. It is four chemos, plus bloods and dressings, which is physically and mentally very draining for her family. Will the Minister provide facilities for paediatric oncology maintenance in University Hospital Kerry, which will give more co-ordinated care for her? I know €81 million was returned to the HSE last year. Could that be used to provide that service?
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising the case. It sounds awful and truly heartbreaking. Will the Deputy revert to me directly with the details? I will talk to the Department and the HSE and anything that can be done will be done. It does not mean they will be able to provide everything the family needs and in an ideal world would have, but we will look at it immediately and whatever can be done, we will act.