The HSE has begun the recruitment process to hire a full-time sarcoma specialist based in St Vincent’s Hospital following calls from patients to the continue the employment of the only specialist in the State.
HSE director general Tony O’Brien confirmed in a letter to Sinn Féin Senator Máire Devine this week that the health body would recruit a full-time sarcoma specialist.
Sarcoma patients protested outside the headquarters of the HSE earlier this week in support of the continued employment of Dr Alexia Bertuzzi whose contract expired on Thursday.
The lives of many patients referred to Dr Bertuzzi from all over Ireland have been saved through her expertise in this rare form of cancer, a group campaigning for her continued employment have said.
Over 13,000 people also signed an online petition calling on St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin to continue employing its only sarcoma specialist.
Sarcoma is a rare cancer that affects 200 to 250 people in Ireland annually. There are 50 different types, and it is curable if caught early. The group says the best hope for patients is a plan drawn up by a specialist in the disease.
Minister for Health Simon Harris had said earlier this week that Dr Bertuzzi, who is from Italy, was employed on a locum contract to provide cover for another consultant oncologist who had taken on the role of chair of the Irish clinical oncology research group.
