Prof Michaela Higgins, president of the Irish Society for Medical Oncology, said healthcare staff were 'hampered' in delivering optimal care to cancer patients by 'the lack of sufficient people, capacity and resources in the system'
The National Cancer Control Programme’s annual budget for implementation of the National Cancer Strategy should have increased incrementally over the past eight years to be €110 million higher in 2024 than in 2016, according to the HSE. The actual incremental increase has been €65 million. As a result the cumulative loss of investment in cancer services from 2017 to 2024 is almost €180 million, the Irish Cancer Society said.
The society also said clinical trials were falling “far short” of target, and access to new medicines was much slower in Ireland than in other European countries. Prof John Kennedy, chairman of the National Cancer Strategy, said he was “deeply concerned about the impact lack of investment in the National Cancer Strategy is having on people with cancer in Ireland”.