More than 2,700 wait over recommended HSE timeframe for colonoscopy
The Irish Cancer Society has said the delays are putting patients lives at risk.
Urgent colonoscopes are required for patients who have symptoms such as weight loss or blood in their stool.
HSE guidelines say these people should be seen within 28 days.
However, figures obtained by RTÉ News show that 2,764 people waited between 29 and 60 days for an urgent colonoscopy between January and May this year.
A total of 3,623 people waited over the recommended timeframe of 28 days in 2024.
Consultant Gastroenterologist at St James's Hospital in Dublin Finbar MacCarthy said patients in need of an urgent procedure must be seen within the recommended timeframe.
"This is a concern, as I said the number of patients who will ultimately be diagnosed with either a cancer or inflammatory bowel disease is small.
"But out of that group of people, there are undoubtedly patients who already have cancers or who already have another bowel disease that requires prompt diagnosis and prompt access to treatment."
Mr MacCarthy said hospital capacity needs to increase in line with demand for colonoscopies.
"Without an increase in capacity to meet the demand there will inevitably be increasing waiting lists for colonoscopies.
"In addition, there are hospitals across the country where the endoscopy unit is significantly curtailed over the winter months in order to facilitate access through the emergency department. This is not a strategy that is tenable in the long term."
The Irish Cancer Society has described the figures as "extremely worrying".
Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said: "In 2017, no one in Ireland waited more than the 28 day target for an urgent colonoscopy, yet this year if the current trend continues, over 6,500 people will.
"That's a shocking deterioration in service and it's putting lives at risk.
"The Irish Cancer Society is calling on Government to stop these delays now, by providing urgent investment in colonoscopy services nationwide."
In a statement the HSE said a number of initiatives have been developed to reduce waiting lists, including the expansion of capsule endoscopy services.
Paul Vickers from Rathcoole in Dublin was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2017.
Despite signs of serious illness including constant pain, Paul waited over three months for an urgent colonoscopy.
He said: "I was having symptoms and like a lot of men my age I was ignoring them, there was blood on the toilet tissue from around October 2016.
"My symptoms got that bad I actually collapsed in early February 2017 in the house. I went over to Tallaght A&E and the doctor there that saw me gave me pain killers and Buscopan and told me to go to my own GP for a referral for a colonoscopy."
Three months later, in May 2017, Paul finally got an appointment for an urgent colonoscopy but he says there were worrying signs in the weeks leading up to the procedure.
"If I wasn't on pain killers, sitting down going to the toilet would have been so painful I couldn't actually stand it.
"I would get a huge amount of wind cramps. I was working nights and that in itself was tiring, but dealing with all the stress as well was wearing me out. I actually lost quite a bit of weight during that time."
Paul believes if he had been given an appointment for an urgent colonoscopy earlier, his recovery would have been much faster but he is also eager to encourage people with symptoms to go the GP as soon as possible.
"In saying that, had I gone in when I got my first symptoms I may not have been diagnosed with cancer, at least not Stage 4 anyway."
"It took me three years to recover from everything"
Paul said by the time he got the urgent procedure, his symptoms were so bad he was treated as an emergency case.
"My colon and large bowel were in such a state that they didn't let me home. They kept me in that day and two days later I got an ostomy bag in to shut my entire large bowel, digestive system down.
"It was actually that bad I became an emergency then. I spent that summer on chemo and radiation therapy."
Paul is now healthy and is looking forward to the future.
"It took me three years to recover from everything, the radiation was quite severe, I was on a lot of radiation five days a week for six weeks and that has left a lot of damage to my large intestine but I have to manage that."
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