The meeting was arranged by Dublin South East TD Lucinda Creighton, and was also attended by newly elected local Labour TD Kevin Humphreys who is a cancer survivor, and by senior officials from the National Cancer Control Strategy (NCCP). 

After the new government came in, it was announced that Minister Reilly had put many of Mary Harney’s closure plans on hold pending his review. But when Campaign Chairman Joe Guilfoyle asked him if St Luke’s was one of the projects on hold he admitted he ‘hadn’t looked at it.’

Minister Reilly said, ‘Nothing will happen to St Luke’s on my watch. I don’t see it closing but it’s a big site. It’s not going to close but it’s not going to stay the same. Times change, developments change.  I’m an open book on change.’

Ranelagh woman Enid O’Dowd PRO of the Campaign who attended the meeting said she was disappointed the Minister would not commit the hospital and grounds to long term cancer use.

However she said, ‘I feel reassured that there is no danger of the hospital and lands being sold off under this Minister.  The law passed by Mary Harney last year permits it to be sold if the Minister of Health consents, and this is very unsatisfactory. Minister Reilly did say he would consider a simple amending bill to make it impossible to sell the site without this being discussed in, and agreed by the Dail.’

The Campaign claims it has been having difficulties getting accurate information about the phasing down of services at St Luke’s and an official source had told the Campaign that no medical staff had been transferred to the new centres which contradicted information obtained informally.

However, NCCP Manager Kilian McGrane agreed that medical staff had in fact been moved but stressed that any moves were ‘voluntary.’ He admitted that some nurses who had put their names down for transfer had subsequently withdrawn their names. 

O’Dowd continued, ‘Luke’s hospital management asked us to deal directly with the NCCP when the HSE took over.  Initially we got replies from the NCCP but a long letter sent in mid January, asking among other things about the retirement and non replacement of four linear accelerators has not been answered months later despite reminders. We are hoping that communications will improve after this meeting.’

Pressed on the lack of patient consultation in the decision to close St Luke’s the Minister said he hoped to improve patient input into health policy and mentioned the Irish Patients Association and the Irish Cancer Society as organisations the Campaign might get involved with in the interests of patient input.

 Joe Guilfoyle stressed that while the Campaign supports the new cancer centres because of increasing cancer cases, it feels that ex Minister Harney’s description of the new cancer unit at James’s as ‘built with cancer patients in mind’ was a sick joke.

He said, ‘it’s an ugly building crammed in between the underground car park and some old prefabs. There are no beds and no catering in the new unit which is an ‘outpatients centre’ only.’










Kilian McGrane responded by saying that the campaigners should see inside the building which has an atrium giving wonderful light. Pressed about the dilapidated prefabs which are only a few metres from the main entrance he said they might be removed at Phase 2 stage (which is several years away).

The Campaign book launched by presidential hopeful Senator David Norris, Cancer in a Cold Climate: the shafting of St Luke’s Hospital is available in local shops including Rosalin’s newsagents in Dunville Avenue, Ranelagh and Dubray Books, Swan Centre Rathmines.  The book describes the background to the flawed decision to close St Luke’s, how Mary Harney railroaded her bill to close it through the Dail and also contains moving patient stories.
   
The campaign can be contacted at savestlukes@eircom.net www.savestlukes.ie
Facebook  Save St Luke’s Tel: 087 6395790