Ireland's cancer care postcode lottery laid bare as lives put at risk with new person diagnosed with disease every 3mins
New data shows huge variations in tests and treatment across Ireland, meaning where you live can significantly impact how quickly you're diagnosed, and start treatment.
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The postcode lottery is putting cancer patients at risk
Credit: Getty
Nationally, only 74.2 per cent of men got their prostate rapid access clinic appointment within 20 working days – below the 90 per cent target.
This dropped as low as 12.7 per cent in
Major regional variance was also seen in breast and lung
Some 96.6 per cent of
But this was down to just 62 per cent for
Irish Cancer Society chief Averil Power warns there is no question these delays are causing avoidable deaths and that this postcode
EVERY three minutes someone in Ireland learns they have cancer.
One in two of us are now expected to get the disease in our lifetime.
When you, or someone you love, receives that devastating news, you deserve the best possible chance of surviving the disease.
Sadly, right now in Ireland, many people are not getting that chance.
The major symptoms of 'common cancer' as HSE say 'know the signs'
In cancer care, time can be everything. For many cancers, your chances of survival at stage one are 80 per cent or more.
TIME MATTERS
But by stage four, that can drop to less than 20 per cent.
So early detection and treatment can literally be the difference between life and death.
That is why target waiting times for cancer tests and treatment are set out in the National Cancer Strategy.
However,
WAITING FOR TESTS
Many patients are waiting much longer than they should to access tests for breast and prostate cancer.
Imagine being told by your
This was the experience of one woman referred for an urgent breast assessment at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
Nationally, almost one in four women referred for urgent testing at Breast Rapid Access Clinics were not seen within the 10-day target.
At the Mater, seven out of ten patients were not seen on time.
Three other hospitals dropped below five in ten for at least four months last year.
One in four patients nationally waited longer than they should have for their first appointment at a Prostate Rapid Access Clinic.
At Galway University Hospital, only 13 per cent of patients accessed the prostate clinic on time.
Access to cancer care and diagnostics should not be a postcode lottery. In Ireland, it is.
CHEMOTHERAPY DELAYS
If you are in the west or north-west of the country, you are far more likely to wait longer than you should for access to chemotherapy.
The longest waiting times were in Letterkenny University Hospital, where on average only 20 per cent of patients started their treatment on time.
In some months, nobody did.
The situation has improved, but it is not acceptable that it became this bad.
RADIOTHERAPY DELAYS
The longest waiting times for radiotherapy were in the east of the country.
Ninety per cent of patients should start radiation oncology treatment within 15 working days.
In public hospitals across Ireland, just 66 per cent of patients did.
In St Luke's in Dublin, only 62 per cent started on time.
PUTTING LIVES AT RISK
These waiting times are not only causing enormous anxiety for patients and
In fact, the
INADEQUATE STAFFING, EQUIPMENT AND SPACE
For cancer services to function effectively, they need three things – staff, equipment and physical space.
Most cancer centres are struggling with at least one of those. Our hospitals are staffed with incredible doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
They are working hard to deliver the best care they can. However, there are simply not enough of them.
Equipment is a problem too. There is no PET scanner in our public hospitals in Galway, Limerick or Waterford.
Some of the radiotherapy machines in Dublin are seven years past their useful life and are often out of service.
While many welcome extensions have been added at some hospitals, others are half the size they need to be.
INVESTMENT
It must also deliver increased investment in cancer staffing in the next year's
If the current coalition runs its full term, almost a quarter of a million people will hear the words 'you have cancer' under its watch.
They must invest to ensure that more of us receive the words the Irish Cancer Society believes that everyone should hear: 'You will survive.'
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One person learns they have cancer every three minutes in Ireland
Credit: Getty
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Irish Cancer Society chief Averil Power said delays are causing avoidable deaths
Credit: Fennell Photography
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