The family of bowel cancer victim Susie Long has spoken out about the surprise resignation of the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, on Wednesday night, saying that they feel utterly betrayed by her broken promises.
Susie Long’s husband Conor Mac Liam, her daughter Áine Nic Liam, and son Fergus Mac Liam issued a statement yesterday saying that the minister is “walking out of her job having caused immense suffering for patients dependent on public health care”.
They also pointed to the fact that promises were made to Susie Long while she was alive that a new endoscopy unit would be open at St Luke’s Hospital and this has not yet happened.
In the statement they said, “on January 31, 2007 in the Dáil as Susie and Fergus watched from the public gallery Mary Harney spoke in response to a motion on cancer services initiated by Joe Higgins TD.
“Having referred to the ‘regrettable’ delay in Susie’s diagnosis, she announced capital funding of €300,000 to build a new modular endoscopy unit at the hospital to reduce waiting times. Susie’s delay in diagnosis happened because St Luke’s hospital in Kilkenny had missed out on an endoscopy unit in the last recession and a long waiting list had developed as they operated out of a spare room with six trolleys.
“The hospital authorities were convinced that a new unit would now be built and in May of 2007 they presented Susie with planning briefs for the new unit at a ceremony in the hospital. Susie died in October that year, believing that this unit would be built, that others would benefit from it and perhaps lives would be saved. It still hasn’t been built.”
On the evening of Ms Harney’s resignation the family spoke with the clinical director of St Luke’s and once again they learned that the HSE South has not included the endoscopy unit in its capital budget for this year, or the next.
The plans for a hospice were also not included.
“Susie had to go to Dublin to die with dignity in a hospice. Still there is no hospice in the southeast of the country. The Susie Long Hospice Fund has raised €0.5 million for a hospice in Kilkenny. In two years’ time, according to a 2006 HSE report, two hospices are to be completed, one in Waterford and one in Kilkenny. Neither one is started,” the statement said.
The family point out that now people still people die behind curtains in overcrowded hospitals.
“We are left utterly despondent, angry, and almost disbelieving at Ms Harney’s attitude to the plight of public patients, as she takes an early and no doubt, very comfortable, retirement.”
Meanwhile, Conor Mac Liam began his election campaign for the Socialist Party and United Left Alliance at a public meeting last evening to launch the United Left Alliance (ULA ) in Kilkenny.
The meeting took place in Kyteler’s Inn in Kilkenny. Joe Higgins MEP (Socialist Party ); Cllr Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit Alliance ); and Cllr Seamus Healy (S Tipp Workers and Unemployed Action Group ) also spoke at the meeting.
Mr Mac Liam is to make the public health system and the demand for a hospice for Carlow/Kilkenny a central plank of his campaign.
