SIPTU endorses National Radiation Therapy report and calls for its implementation
The SIPTU Allied Health Professionals Sector Committee has voted to endorse the recently published National Radiation Therapist Review Final Report and called upon the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, to implement its recommendations on adequate staffing levels as a matter of urgency.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, John McCamley, said: “The SIPTU Allied Health Professionals Sector Committee represents health and social care professionals including Radiation Therapists. It had previously highlighted that 30% more Radiation Therapists are needed within our health services and the lack of these professionals is leading to increased delays in cancer treatments.
“This staffing crisis has led to at least four cancer treatment machines not being utilised. These machines could treat around thirty patients a day, meaning there may be as many as 120 cancer cases not being dealt with daily due to staffing deficits.
He added: “Radiation Therapists perform a crucial role within our health service. Almost half of the people with a cancer diagnosis will require radiation therapy as part of their treatment plan. This treatment is delivered by radiation therapists as part of a multi-disciplinary team. They are the only profession with the legal authority to deliver radiation therapy with services delivered by the HSE in Dublin, Cork and Galway.”
SIPTU Radiation Therapy Shop Steward and member of the SIPTU Allied Health Professionals Sector Committee, Clara Cremin, said: “We are calling on the Minister for Health and HSE to accept the findings of the Report and as a matter of urgency implement its recommendations to avert an all-out crisis in the State’s vital cancer services that so many depend on.”