THE SETTING up of specialised breast cancer units will result in shorter stays in hospital for many patients who need to undergo a mastectomy, according to new research published yesterday.
The study at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital, where a specialist breast unit was established in 2006, found that the number of patients discharged within 36 hours of a mastectomy and lymph node biopsy increased substantially between 2004 and 2007.
Back in 2004/2005 just 3 per cent of patients were discharged so rapidly compared with 23 per cent in 2007.
The authors of the study, presented at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland annual research day yesterday, said it demonstrated that “the average length of stay for mastectomies and wide local excisions has fallen, with the introduction of a multi-surgeon specialised breast unit”.
They added: “The positive impact of specialisation in breast surgery is undisputed. Earlier patient discharge and a shift to post-operative care in the community may be challenging, but leads to more efficient use of limited healthcare resources.”
This findings will be music to the ears of the Health Service Executive as it continues its drive to centralise breast cancer services at eight centres, and also as it continues its overall drive to cut costs.
Meanwhile, two other pieces of research presented looked in more detail at elements of the Slán 2007 study on the health and lifestyle of the Irish population.
While it was revealed last year that the study found more than one-quarter of adults (28 per cent) in the State were binge drinking or having six or more drinks at least once a week, the research published yesterday showed those who reported drinking over the recommended weekly limit were over twice as likely to have got into a fight and almost four times as likely to have been in an accident in the previous year as those drinking within the recommended weekly limit.
These drinkers were also four times more likely to feel they should cut down on their drinking and four times more likely to feel that their drinking was harming their health.
Among younger male drinkers (aged 18 to 29), one-quarter felt they should cut down on the amount they drank and one-third regretted something they had done while under the influence of alcohol. Additionally, one in five reported being assaulted as a result of somebody else’s drinking.