{"id":252351,"date":"2026-01-19T09:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T09:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/252351\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T09:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T09:42:12","slug":"concerns-over-lack-of-access-to-rapid-access-prostate-clinic-for-donegal-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/252351\/","title":{"rendered":"Concerns over lack of access to Rapid Access Prostate Clinic for Donegal patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cllr Declan Meehan<\/a>, member of the Regional Health Forum, has raised serious concerns about the ongoing lack of effective access to the Rapid Access Prostate Clinic for patients from Donegal.<\/p>\n

\n The\u00a0Rapid Access Prostate Clinic\u00a0is a fundamental part of the National Cancer Control Programme, designed to provide fast-track assessment and diagnosis for men with suspected prostate cancer. According to national service documentation, the aim of the Rapid Access Prostate Clinic is to see patients within 20 days of receipt of referral from their GP.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a time-sensitive pathway,\u201d Cllr Meehan said. \u201cThe Irish national guidelines are clear that men referred by their GPs\u00a0should be seen within the target timeframe\u00a0so that prostate cancer can be excluded or diagnosed as quickly as possible.
Yet GPs in Donegal are telling me patients are being left waiting with no official communication from HSE management.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Meehan explained that the issue only emerged after local GPs noticed extended wait times and raised the matter informally with colleagues and staff at\u00a0University Hospital Galway. \u201cNo direct contact has been made with GPs about the delays, nor have GPs been given alternative arrangements for their patients. This is simply unacceptable given that 91% of referrals to the clinic come from GPs,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n
The Rapid Access Prostate Clinics were established as part of the National Cancer Control Programme to reduce delays and improve outcomes for patients nationwide. These clinics enable GPs to refer eligible men directly for assessment and potential biopsy, bypassing lengthy general urology waiting lists.\n<\/p>\n

\n
\u201cThe very purpose of these clinics is early diagnosis,\u201d Cllr Meehan continued. \u201cGPs tell me that patients in Donegal are now waiting far longer than the national target. We need urgent clarity from HSE management on the current operation, workload, and future of this clinic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

In a letter sent on Friday to HSE management both locally and regionally, Cllr Meehan has demanded explanation and immediate corrective action. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were promised that when Galway was chosen as a centre of excellence it would deliver the best possible outcome\u00a0for all patients, including those from Donegal. Instead, patients here are treated like the poor cousin \u2014 with some of the worst access to critical cancer diagnostic services in the country\u00a0and as a result some of the poorest outcomes for cancer patients in the country.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cCancer diagnostic wait times are not just statistics \u2014 they represent real anxiety, real fear, and potentially delayed treatment or lives lost. I urge the HSE to provide us with answers and to ensure that the resources necessary are put in place now\u00a0so that no patient has to wait longer than the guidelines intend.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

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ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cllr Declan Meehan, member of the Regional Health Forum, has raised serious concerns about the ongoing lack of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[34869,4500,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-252351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-declan-meehan","tag-galway","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}