A 39-year-old woman suffering from cancer has received an assurance that her chemotherapy treatment will begin next Monday in the Mater Private Hospital. Janette Byrne, from Finglas Park in Dublin, suffers from non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and has been assigned a programme of treatment by her consultant.
She phoned the Mater Public Hospital last Monday to check in for her latest 5-day treatment and was told there was no bed available. These were not the first delays that Mrs Byrne had encountered and she took legal action in the High Court. Today's hearing was, however, cut short when the Eastern Area Health Authority gave her an assurance that the treatment would begin on Monday. The Board will fund the treatment, as Mrs Byrne is a medical card holder.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly said, ruling on the agreement, that one would require a heart of stone not to be sympathetic to the plight of this woman. He said that she was wise to adopt this course of action, as her case would not have ended today and might well have gone to an appeal.
