Kilkenny healthcare workers honoured

Kilkenny HSE staff who process applications for cancer patients to receive treatment abroad, were recently at the heart of a moving ceremony in their Seville Lodge offices on the Callan Road.

For several years, the unit has been assisting patients with neuroendocrine tumours, a rare form of cancer, to travel to centres in Sweden and The Netherlands for care that is not available in Ireland.

Co Wexford estate agent, Adrian Haythornthwaite, was one of many patients who availed of the local service and took charge of a project to erect a small plaque in honour of the hard-working staff.

Sadly, after a brief illness, Mr. Haythornthwaite died in March of this year. 

Despite his passing, several of Adrian’s colleagues from the ‘NET Patient Network Support Group’ kept his vision alive, travelling to Kilkenny to participate in a plaque unveiling ceremony.

Chairman of the Support Group, Mark Mc Donnell, paid tribute to his former colleague, commenting: “We were all shocked by his passing in March and we are glad to honour Adrian’s wishes and formally acknowledge our gratitude.”

Former RTE Journalist and Northern-Ireland Editor, Tommie Gorman, has been living with a NETs condition for almost 30 years and is a founder member of the support group. 

Speaking at the event, Mr. Gorman said: “In our dealings with Kilkenny, our consistent experience is that the system helps rather than hinders us. The Irish healthcare service often comes in for criticism but as patients with a rare form of cancer, we are benefitting from incremental improvements.”