Patients in 'postcode lottery' for cancer referral
Patients are facing a "postcode lottery" when it comes to urgent referrals for suspected breast cancer, according to Social Democrats spokesperson on Health Padraig Rice.
He has raised the matter with the Minister for Health in the Dáil.
Deputy Rice said that "only four out of nine hospitals met the target of seeing 95% of urgent referrals within two weeks" as per the HSE target.
The Mater hospital was cited as only seeing 29% of patients within the required timeframe.
"It shouldn't matter where you live, no person should have to wait more than two weeks, these are urgent referrals, where is the sense of urgency?" he asked.
Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the HSE national cancer control programme monitors these clinics, and she said often these clinics operate at full capacity.
"Unfortunately, any disruption to services can lead to a backlog which can take time to clear," she said.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said where a performance issue arises, the HSE can implement site-specific measures, and conceded that perhaps the HSE needed to implement region specific measures, saying she could discuss that further.
Deputy Rice shared the experience of two women from North Dublin, who had to wait far longer than the two weeks recommended for urgent care at the Mater cancer clinic.
He said one woman presented with two lumps in her breast last February, but was told by the Mater that the waiting time had risen to three months.
"It was May before she received her appointment at the Mater," he said.
Deputy Rice spoke of another patient who sought an urgent appointment at the Mater in April, she was seen two months later.
During what he described as the "agonizing" wait for an appointment, all the women were told was that the clinic was understaffed and no estimated date could be provided.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said "there is no world in which the Mater's figures are remotely acceptable."
She said she was deeply disappointed between the content and the tone of correspondence between the Mater and women waiting for urgent appointments.
She said she'd spoken to the CEO to express her concern in relation to this, and had spoken to the Regional Executives to come up with a regional solution that meets the needs, saying the situation was "absolutely unacceptable."
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