Louth people in a palliative care “postcode lottery”

Louth people are in a “postcode lottery” when it comes to palliative care, Louth senator John McGahon has claimed.

Raising the issue in the Seanad this week in a debate about national cancer services, the Fine Gael senator said that the discrepancy was the result of a HSE decision.

Detailing the issue to Minister of State at the Department of Health Colm Burke, he said:

“The CHO 8 area, as the Minister of State knows, covers counties Louth, Meath, Laois and Offaly.

“A decision was made by the HSE that in the Louth and Meath areas, only clinical nurse specialists would be able to administer palliative care.

“In every other health service area, public health nurses are able to administer palliative care.“

The senator gave an example of how if somebody lives on the border of counties Louth and Monaghan, in County Louth, they have to have a clinical nurse specialist deliver palliative care.

But, if they live two miles away in Inniskeen, County Monaghan, a public health nurse can do it.

“What is the difference?,” the senator asked.

He continued: “Public health nurses, of whom we have more, are able to come into people's homes and administer end-of-life care.

“It is part of the cancer strategy going back a number of years that somebody has the right to die in their own home if they so wish.

“What happens when we only have clinical nurse specialists providing palliative care is that people in counties Louth and Meath end up having to go directly to hospital when they get close to the end-of-life stage and have to receive palliative care there.

“That is just a decision by the HSE in this particular area of CHO 8. In counties Offaly and Laois, for example, which are also part of CHO 8, public health nurses administer palliative care.

“It is a clear discrepancy, based on the postcode lottery of whether someone lives in counties Louth or Meath or Cavan and Monaghan.

“That is not a decision made by the Government, but by the HSE. It is something I raised a year ago and about which I wrote to the HSE.

“There has not been much movement on it.

“Given the Minister of State's track record on health in this House over the past decade and a half, it is something I would perhaps like to speak with him about privately to see if we can get some movement.”