Health Minister says CUH among best for breast clinic referral times

Cork University Hospital sees 80% to 90% of patients with urgent referrals due to breast cancer symptoms within two weeks of referral, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has said.

Cork TD Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice was told that the Cork hospital was among the better performers in Ireland in this regard when he raised the issue in the Dáil, telling the minister: “Access to symptomatic breast disease clinics has become a postcode lottery.” 

He explained: “Following an urgent GP referral, a person should be seen by a clinic within two weeks. However, timely access to these clinics varies widely. Last year, only four out of nine hospitals met the target of seeing 95% of urgent referrals within two weeks.

“The Mater Hospital only reached 29%, St. James's Hospital 51% and Letterkenny 58%. Some of these are shocking failures. It should not matter where one lives; no person should have to wait more than two weeks. These are urgent referrals.” 

Ms Carroll MacNeil explained that the HSE has set a target of 95% of urgent referrals being seen within ten working days, acknowledging that some hospitals did not meet this target and saying this is “often caused by staff shortages or problems in accessing diagnostics or radiology services.

“These clinics consistently operate at full capacity. Unfortunately, any disruption to services can lead to a backlog, which can take time to clear,” she said.

“Where a performance issue arises, the HSE implements site-specific measures, but it may also need to implement regional measures, which we can discuss further. These can include funding additional clinics or providing locum cover where necessary.” 

Mr Rice, who is the party’s health spokesperson and chair of the Oireachtas health committee, said: “One report states that one in four people waited longer than recommended for an appointment at these urgent clinics,” adding that one women he was in touch with was told the waiting time to be seen had risen to three months.

He continued: “We absolutely need better planning here. A lot of this comes back to staffing. Greater resources must be allocated specifically to breast clinics to ensure adequate staffing throughout the country, regardless of where people live.

“We need joined-up thinking. The departments of health and higher education must work together to ensure people are able to access places on various healthcare courses. The HSE also has a role as it must ensure there are enough clinical placements for trainees. Crucially, we need to ensure people can stay in Ireland to work in our healthcare system after qualification.” 

The minister acknowledged “there is no world in which it is acceptable” for people to wait three months, but said that some hospitals had good times, explaining that St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin is at 99%, and Cork University Hospital “remains in the 80% to 90% range for urgent referrals”.