The number of “urgent” colonoscopies not completed within target times almost tripled last year compared to 2024, HSE figures show.
A colonoscopy is a medical examination involving a thin, flexible tube with a camera being used to look at the lining of the large intestine for signs of disease.
The health service has a 28-day target for people deemed to require an “urgent” colonoscopy, as there is a risk such patients may go on to develop cancer. Failing to see patients within this timeframe is known as an urgent colonoscopy breach.
Bernard Gloster, chief executive of the HSE, provided an update on the issue to the board at its monthly meeting in October.
READ MORE
At that time there had been 4,807 breaches in 2025, more than double the 2,393 in 2024.
But updated HSE figures show there were 6,174 total breaches at the end of November last year, representing almost triple the numbers the year before.
The health service has a target of zero breaches.
“Overall, there has been some visible improvement since the escalation of this issue and there is a way to go to correct to target,” minutes of the meeting state.
The board noted Mr Gloster’s “concern” at referral patterns and the “definitions being applied to urgent” and that further monitoring was required.
Speaking previously, Liz Yeates, chief executive of the Marie Keating Foundation, said delays in colonoscopies were a “national cancer care crisis”.
“Early diagnosis remains the most effective tool we have in improving cancer outcomes. Every delay is a devastating risk,” she has said.
“In 2017, no patient waited beyond the recommended timeframe for a colonoscopy. That is not progress, it is regression.”
An HSE spokeswoman said the increase in breaches was “primarily due to a sustained rise in endoscopy referrals from primary care, hospital outpatient clinics and inpatient referrals year on year”.
“This has been further compounded by staffing issues and building works in some cases. Breaches have varied across hospitals during the year, and the chief executive has communicated his concerns to the relevant sites specifically in relation to referral patterns,” she said.
The spokeswoman said although the 28-day target “remains and is important”, she said the “next critical focus” was that any breaches were the “shortest period possible”.
The HSE has introduced measures to address breaches, including the establishment of regional governance structures to support service delivery, weekend work at some hospitals and scoping of alternative diagnostic pathways.
“Longer-term plans include regional surgical hubs and two elective hospitals, which will expand endoscopy capacity,” the spokeswoman said.
Bowel cancer is the second most-common cancer in men, the third most-common cancer in women. It is the third leading cause of cancer death in Ireland.
