EXCLUSIVE: Temporary Pause in Production Causes Chemotherapy Delays, Patients Demand Answers From HSE

Kfm has been contacted by a listener who said his wife's chemotherapy is being pushed out and said he has had no contact from the HSE.

Some patients are facing delays in the administration of chemotherapy treatment due to a temporary pause in the production of some services.

Kfm has been contacted by a listener who said his wife's chemotherapy is being pushed out and said he has had no contact from the HSE.

He said his wife, Geraldine, was due to have treatment this week at Kilkenny Hospital but it has been pushed to next week because there is no chemotherapy available.

“It’s hard enough to have cancer, but then to have to fight for chemotherapy,” Ray Noctor said.

“We don’t know when this is going to be resolved. We haven’t heard anything from the HSE,” Ray said.

“It should be up to the HSE to tell us. There has been no communication”.

It is understood that the delays in administration of chemotherapy to some patients is as a result of the "temporary pause of compounding services" at a facility in Sandyford operated by a company called Baxter.

Ray said his wife only found out about the delay after she was contacted by an oncology specialist at a hospital she was due to attend.

He said there has been no communication about the delay from either the HSE or Baxter.

When Kfm contacted Baxter for a statement, a spokesperson said they "are advising customers to implement their contingency plans".

However, Kfm understands that some hospitals are struggling to source the chemotherapy drugs.

When asked about this, a spokesperson for Baxter said they "are advising hospitals to implement contingency plans to source products from alternative suppliers.”

"We fully respect and understand the impact this disruption is having, and we are mobilising all resources available to try and resolve this situation. We have been utilising our network of compounding units in the UK to supply the market where possible and have been advising customers to implement their contingency plans during this time," they said.

Ray’s wife has stage four cancer. He has been told that oncologists do not know when Chemotherapy will be available.

When trying to get answers about his wife's chemotherapy, Ray said: "Oncology don't know and if oncology don't know they can't inform the patients. It's unfair, it's totally unfair and disrespectful to leave all this to the nurses and staff in oncology to inform patients. It shouldn't be up to them. They're under enough pressure," Ray said.

He said his wife will have "to go and get bloods done on Sunday and hopefully she will get her chemo then in the next couple of days after. Now that's not guaranteed because oncology can't guarantee that because they don't know," he said.

He added: "The HSE should have this information and they should be informing patients. We got no letter, no phone call, nothing. This is not good at all. We're dealing with people's lives here and they need this chemotherapy. It's about survival. It's like a lottery."

A spokesperson for the HSE told Kfm that the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) has been aware of the disruption since July 31st.

They said the impacts on patient numbers will only be known "subsequent to the resolution of the capacity issue".

The said that although this disruption is ongoing, the NCCP has been informed that production has recommenced on a phased approach.

"Ensuring patients receive timely and quality treatment for their cancer remains a priority for the NCCP and the HSE," the spokesperson said.

They said nine out of 25 16 of the 25 hospitals that provide Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) services have local compounding facilities and are mainly unaffected.

Kfm has requested a full list of the hospitals that are impacted.

The spokesperson added that "the hospitals mainly impacted are those who are completely dependent on outsourcing their compounded Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT)".

They said the NCCP have communicated to hospitals on the "importance of implementing their local business continuity measures to manage the disruption and minimise impacts to patients’ treatments."

They added that the NCCP "understands" that Baxter Healthcare Ireland are working closely with the Health Products Regulatory Authority to resume operations and that they are in "regular communication with hospitals".

They said they "understand" that hospitals are utilising all available resources to mitigate patient impact including provision of stock products from UK companies".

A spokesperson for the Irish Cancer Society said anyone with questions or concerns about cancer can contact the Irish Cancer Society Support Line on Freephone 1800 200 700 or email supportline@irishcancer.ie.

You can listen to the full interview with Ray on Monday Morning's Kildare Today at 9.25.