New figures show that 15 per cent of chemotherapy patients and 21 per cent of radiotherapy patients did not start treatment within recommended timeframes
Thousands of cancer patients were left waiting beyond recommended timeframes for vital treatment last year, new figures have revealed.
HSE guidelines recommend that patients should be seen within 15 working days of being deemed ready to start either radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
However, more than one-in-five radiotherapy patients – totaling 1,448 people – missed this key target for starting their care. Similarly, 1,356 chemotherapy patients across Ireland last year did not start their treatment on time.
The data from the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) also showed how delays were seen among cancer patients needing life-saving surgery.
Nationally, 45 per cent of breast cancer patients (455) did not get their surgery on time, while 39 per cent (104) of lung cancer patients also faced delays being receiving their procedure. More than six-in-ten prostate patients (377) were left waiting beyond the 30-day period within which it is recommended that they should receive surgical care.
“Patients who have received the devastating news of their diagnosis deserve the best possible chance of surviving this disease, but delays across the country sadly means patients are not being given that chance,” said Emma Harte, policy and campaigns manager at the Irish Cancer Society.
“It’s really important to note that this latest data comes on the back of many other delay statistics that the Irish Cancer Society has been consistently raising with successive Governments. The Irish Cancer Society is calling for this NCCP data to be released in real-time on a regular basis. This would allow us to identify those patients being let down and focus attention and investment where it is most needed.”
The data was released following a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane. He accused the Government of allowing a tiered system of cancer care to develop through a lack of sufficient funding.
“Advocates have been shouting from the rooftops about capacity pressures for years and it is materialising in the worst possible way for patients and families,” he said.
“Behind each of these figures are hundreds of people who are sick with worry, facing delay after delay and trying to cope with the fear that their cancer is progressing while they wait.
“Constituents of mine in Waterford have come to me because they are waiting weeks for treatment. We recently had a case in Roscommon of a woman left waiting for six weeks to start chemotherapy. This is happening right around the country, and delays in accessing diagnostic scans is a big driver of delays in starting treatment or accessing surgery.
He added: “We cannot allow cancer care to go backwards, but in some areas that is exactly what this data suggests is happening.
“Delays are hurting at every stage of a cancer patient’s journey from the first GP referral to a consultant, to diagnostics, to treatment, to surgery because the problem is not in one single place. Capacity failures ripple through the whole system.
“Equipment is a major part of this. Some hospitals do not have enough equipment, in others it is outdated, and there are hospitals with new equipment but who cannot retain enough staff to operate it meaning services can’t run at full capacity. The fact that around 35 per cent of radiotherapy equipment is out of date is simply unacceptable. Modern, up-to-date equipment must be matched with proper staffing, so capacity can be maximised.”