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MAY 2006
Donegal Action for Cancer Care Campaign Rally Huge Success
Thousands of Donegal People, from all over the county, arrived
in Letterkenny on Sunday 14th May to support the Donegal Action
for Cancer Care campaign, which has been calling for the retention
and development of cancer services in Donegal.
The march was from the Market Square to the Town Park, where the
speakers had two messages for the government. Donegal will no longer
stand for this level of cancer service and until they deliver the
DACC will not go away.
Noelle Duddy, one of the founder members of DACC told those in
attendance that the huge crowd was "an awesome sight."
She added that the people of Donegal were not looking for "Micky
Mouse service," but wanted the best possible service for the
people of Donegal. This turn out is a message to the HSE - give
us what we need."
The DACC met with An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and they pleaded with
him to put them out of business. "We told him we are tired
of rhetoric we now want results." She added that the people
of Donegal would not accept being punished because they were geographically
and politically isolated from the rest of the Republic."The
people of Donegal will not be made to suffer because of political,
professional or personal agendas and egos interfering with rational
resolutions that would retain and develop cancer services in Letterkenny
General Hospital. She said. In the broadest hint yet that the group
may yet consider a political option she said "He said he wanted
to put us out of business, so we say, do it or perhaps we might
need to take steps that could put his government out of business!"
Dr. Kevin Moran told the rally that the DACC objectives were reasonable,
justifiable and obtainable, but stressed that no cancer treatment
service should be available here unless it was of the international
gold standard. Consultant Radiologist Dr. Catherine McGowan meanwhile
warned of a knock-on effect that could seriously jeopardise cancer
services at the hospital. "We are not an officially recognised
breast cancer service and have been put in a position where we are
being asked to provide a service without official recognition. If
no official recognition is sanctioned by the appointment of a permanent
breast surgeon then the service will cease and that will have a
knock-on domino effect for all other cancer services in the hospital.
The joint chairpersons of DACC, John Quinn and Lynn McDevitt, said
they were overjoyed at the huge turnout and they urged people to
continue to support their local DACC branch and lobby their politicians.
The rally took place in advance of a meeting between the group
and the Health Service Executive in Dublin later this week about
securing the appointment of a permanent breast surgeon at the hospital.
The group is also demanding the provision of a satellite radiation
unit in the north-west and 70 new public beds at the hospital.
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