September Dr Mike Ryan to deliver memorial lecture at NUI Galway Freyer Symposium

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly T.D. to open Symposium

Director of the World Health Organisation, Dr Mike Ryan, is to speak at NUI Galway on the impact of Covid-19 on other diseases, healthcare and disease control.

Dr Ryan joins Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly T.D. and a host of medical specialists for the University’s annual Sir Peter Freyer Symposium, one of the largest surgical conferences in Ireland.

The virtual event takes place today and tomorrow, 3-4 September 2021.

Dr Ryan will deliver the Memorial Lecture entitled Impact of Covid-19 on other Diseases, Health Service Delivery and Disease Control Objectives, while Minister Donnelly will give talk on Cancer Care in Difficult Times - the Implication for Government.

Ahead of the symposium Dr Ryan, alumnus of NUI Galway who has been at the forefront of managing acute risks to global health for nearly 25 years, said: “Covid-19 has exposed the deficiencies in healthcare systems. There are huge treatment delays and the capacity for urgent cancer referrals has been significantly reduced. I am delighted to return to my Alma Mater to deliver this prestigious Memorial Lecture which I hope will clarify the impact of this pandemic and convey some important directions on our future from a WHO perspective.”

The NUI Galway symposium, which was first held in 1975, is organised by Professor Michael Kerin, Professor of Surgery at NUI Galway and Director of the Managed Cancer Clinical and Academic Network at Saolta.

Professor Kerin said: “Cancer is the pandemic that we have been living with for generations. One in two people will suffer with cancer and one in three will die from it. By 2040, the cancer rates across the world are projected to double.

“Galway University Hospital coordinates cancer care across a regional network involving the affiliated university hospitals in the Saolta hospitals group. It is the cancer centre for the largest geographical area, spanning the entire west and north-west of Ireland.

“Now, more than ever, the people across these regions deserve a state-of-the-art cancer centre, with an amalgamated research, innovation and teaching hub.

“This virtual symposium will feature cancer care with particular emphasis on the implications of the European cancer mission and the Covid pandemic for Ireland, especially in the west of Ireland which is the most westerly cancer region in Europe and has some of the worst outcomes. The symposium represents all that is best in Irish surgery, with representatives from our leading hospital and university nationally.”

Professor Kerin added: “The role of research, education and innovation in cancer treatments is a strategic priority at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at NUI Galway. As we look to the future we aim to support our healthcare system with new treatment approaches and with the most highly trained oncology experts, so that each and every cancer patient can get the best rapid care locally.”

For further information on the symposium, including the full speaker list visit www.freyer.ie.

Links to the events via zoom:

Friday: https://nuigalway-ie.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUld--rrz0oHt0o3zHQ7Lplb4ZHQjrMCVs1

Saturday: https://nuigalway-ie.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aZRIVoMBRmqjaphGyuktaw

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