Cancer Centre Turns Away Patients

More than 30 patients have been turned away from Northern Ireland’s cancer centre without receiving treatment. The City Hospital in Belfast has admitted that 34 patients awaiting chemotherapy had missed out on treatment since the start of April.

It said this was because there was a shortage of overnight beds available for them. The hospital said this happened because patients who were to be discharged were too sick to go home.

The Ulster Cancer Foundation said any delay in treatment could cause a great deal of extra anxiety to patients and their families.