The government has been called on by the Rural Independent Group to urgently address the backlog of waiting lists for cancer services, made worse by the recent lockdown.
Leader of the group, deputy Mattie McGrath, also called for screening services to be reintroduced to the highest level possible.
Raising the issue with the Taoiseach during leaders questions in the Dáil yesterday (Wednesday, November 11), deputy McGrath criticised the government’s inaction on clearing the backlogs in waiting times and access to cancer services, which he claimed will cost lives.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Tipperary TD stated: “Unless typical patterns of cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment return, there is a real and serious risk that delays and backlogs will lead to hundreds of avoidable deaths.
Thousands of patients across the country are not being screened, with waiting lists growing rapidly and a complete lack of clarity as to how the minister for health or the government will address this issue.
“The Irish cancer care strategy, being advanced by the government, was already at breaking point prior to Covid-19, with the HSE [Health Service Executive] missing its own cancer treatment targets by a staggering 25%.”
The TD highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic has compounded this issue and “has caused a collapsing of the entire system”.
“New data released on the national screening programmes shows that across BowelScreen, CervicalCheck and BreastCheck, some 248,223 people were screened between January and June 2019; compared with 99,286 people seen in the first six months of this year.
Over a full year, this data suggests that up 300,000 less cancer screenings will occur in 2020.
“Unfortunately, there are specific problems in Ireland which are greater than in other countries, mainly revolving around the central pillar of capacity in our health system. In turn, this is creating enormous waiting list problems,” the TD said.
Continuing, the TD stressed the need to fast-track the filling of 500 vacant permanent hospital consultant posts and open thousands of beds, needed across the full scope of the public health service.
“We know that patients in Ireland are experiencing great difficulty in getting timely access to consultant appointments, scans and testing equipment, to monitor cancer treatment responses.
A lack of funding in Ireland’s Oncology services means that there will also be severe challenges in continuing the reopening of cancer services, covering absences among specialists and clinical teams; therefore, funding must be targeted and made available without delay.
“Ireland has around 50% the number of specialists in Medical Oncology, per capita, compared with Australia. This shortage, consultants say, is being compounded by an ongoing pay disparity implemented in 2012, which has led to hundreds of consultants looking outside the Irish public system to find opportunities abroad or in the private sector,” the Rural Independent Group representative said.
“Irish patients are being put in ongoing further jeopardy. The government must acknowledge that we cannot meet current patients’ needs with our existing staffing levels and bed capacity in Irish hospitals.
“The time for talking about the issues is over – government action is now long overdue; otherwise, many lives will be lost,” concluded deputy McGrath.