Cancer care campaigner Roseena Toner is hoping her third protest at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) will be large enough to capture the attention of key decision-makers.
The Clonmany woman, who is in remission from leukaemia, is organising her third demonstration at the gates of LUH tomorrow, Saturday, from 9am to 3pm.
Roseena is advocating for a dedicated cancer unit in Donegal, so that patients do not have to make the same difficult journeys that she did in recent years.
Earlier this week, Roseena’s campaign resulted in a meeting with LUH hospital management to discuss the urgent needs of patients like herself.
Following the meeting with Sean Murphy, the manager of Letterkenny University Hospital, and Dr Gerry O’Dowd from the Saolta University Cancer Network, Roseena said she felt satisfied that management is on the same page.
“Mr Murphy showed us a plan of what he wants in the hospital. We heard that he is trying to secure the funding, but it is up to the Saolta region to give that funding,” Roseena said.
“It seems to me that Saolta is dragging their heels, in that they don’t want anyone to have the facilities that Galway has because they want us all to go to Galway.
“That is okay for the likes of patients in Mayo and Sligo, but it doesn’t suit us.”
Roseena, who staged two protests in March, now aims for her campaign to reach senior figures within Saolta and the Department of Health to secure the necessary funding for enhanced cancer services in Letterkenny.
She highlighted a recent email from the Minister for Health’s secretary, which noted that University Hospital Galway is one of Ireland’s eight designated cancer centres and that Letterkenny University Hospital provided medical oncology and haematology treatment to over 150 patients last year.
Roseena said that the reply raises the question of how many more patients from Donegal must travel hundreds of kilometres for care.
She also criticised plans for a new West and North West Surgical Hub in Sligo.
“Why can’t this be in Letterkenny. Why, for a change, can’t somebody up up to Donegal for something?”
Proceeding with her third protest tomorrow, Roseena is urging the public to come out and show their support.
“You don’t know what the next week or month or year is going to bring, it is in everybody’s benefit that Letterkenny has a proper cancer service, that we don’t have to travel, that elderly people should not have to travel.
“You don’t realise how brutal it is travelling when you are unwell. You spend the whole journey thinking, why me?
She added: “The word is spreading – the more people that turn up, the better. We need to keep highlighting it and maybe somewhere along the line it will get to the ears of the higher-ups.”
Speaking ahead of the protest, Councillor Joy Beard from the 100% Redress Party says it’s time to take the stand.
“Join us to show the managers, the Minister for Health, and the HSE that we are no longer tolerating this carry on,” Cllr Beard wrote.
Cllr Beard said: “In this county we are expected to travel 249km to University Hospital Galway or 239km to a Dublin Hospital to receive Cancer Treatment, some of which could be given in LUH if there was better, up to date facilities.
“We are also accepting behaviour like, cancer patients waiting for hours in A & E & cancer patients being treated in medical & surgical wards by staff not qualified to deal with this, this is unfair to patient and staff members.
“The Oncology/Haematology units are understaffed because of the lack of proper facilities to work in & patients are being left late receiving their life saving treatments because of this.”
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