Child cancer sessions back on after potential staffing delay

Some children with cancer who faced a delay to chemotherapy sessions because of staff shortages are now receiving their treatment, the Belfast Trust has said.

About five children were affected with one child having their treatment put back by five days.

They faced a delay because more than half of specialist nurses in the field are off work in the trust, with seven members of staff "unavailable for work due to planned and unplanned absences".

However, in a statement, the Belfast Health Trust said clinical nurse specialists are now providing additional support.

The trust also said they are "working to improve the situation and staffing and service delivery is being closely monitored to ensure adequate and safe staffing levels".

Sources earlier told BBC News NI that issues around staffing levels across the health trust have been raised, and specifically about the number of specialist nurses in the paediatric haematology and oncology departments.

A member of staff said staffing problems were not being addressed by senior management.

The trust said while nursing posts were fully recruited, unfortunately "the number of chemotherapy-trained nursing staff on the ward has temporarily decreased due to planned and unplanned absences".

'Belfast Trust given a shove'

The Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP) health spokesperson Colin McGrath welcomed news that the children are able to receive their treatments, but said it had taken a story in the media "to give the Belfast Trust the shove that's required to be able to ensure those resources are in place".

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra, he questioned whether any action would have been taken if the story was not reported and how that would have affected the children and their families.

He also said it shows how "precarious" the health service is that the absences left "a service so close that it almost collapses".

The number of nursing staff currently absent is seven out of a total staff of 12.

The trust said this meant "the service is working hard to review all the nursing roles within the wider haematology and oncology departments to help cover the service and protect the most time critical treatments".

"Nurses working on the haematology ward require specialist training to a very high standard so they can safely provide chemotherapy."

Specialist training for newly-qualified nurses can take up to two years.

Earlier, the trust said the potential delays to treatment were not just down to staffing issues but also the clinical assessments of children, bed capacity and chemotherapy preparation availability during the weekend.

Another member of staff who contacted BBC News NI said while a spotlight has been shone on the building's failings and repairs within the Belfast Trust, which are costing tens of millions of pounds, staff feel "frustrated" that money is being diverted away from much-needed front-line care.

The trust said that safety and delivery of timely treatment remains a high priority.

It said it is "actively working to improve the situation and staffing and service delivery is being closely monitored on a daily basis to ensure adequate and safe staffing levels".

Chair of Stormont's health committee, Philip McGuigan, described the delay as "very concerning"

Earlier, Philip McGuigan, chair of Stormont's health committee, described the potential delay as "extremely disappointing" and "very concerning".

"Recruitment and retention of staff is a concern but in this case we have been told that there is a full retention of staff and that the issue is a result of unplanned and or planned absences," McGuigan told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

He added: "We do need to get to the bottom of the reasons for this."

Deputy chair of the health committee, Danny Donnelly, said the Belfast Trust has questions to answer.

"We have heard about levels of workforce issues before, particularly within the Belfast Trust, so I think there are questions for the trust as to why this service is so fragile and so vulnerable to those staff shortages.

"The trust needs to work now to reassure parents that their children will be treated in a timely manner and that they won't suffer any harm from this," Donnelly said..