THERE ARE now 1,854 public patients waiting more than three months at hospitals across the State for tests which in many instances are crucial in the diagnosis of bowel cancer, according to figures published yesterday.
This is more than 1,000 more than were waiting over three months for colonoscopies a year ago. The Irish Cancer Society expressed concern at the waiting times and sought assurances they would be addressed before a national bowel cancer screening programme begins next year, which could put further pressure on test centres.
Joan Kelly, nursing services manager with the society, urged people who have been waiting for a colonoscopy in a public hospital for more than six weeks to contact their GP to see if they can schedule the procedure as soon as possible.
“If patients are waiting for longer than three months, it’s important to know that you can contact the National Treatment Purchase Fund (LoCall 1890-720820) to discuss referral for a colonoscopy to a private hospital free of charge,” she added.
Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital had the longest waiting list at 444, followed by Tallaght hospital at 219 and the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, at 180.
The purchase fund, which supplied the waiting-list figures, pays for treatment in private hospitals for public patients waiting more than three months for care. It said it can ensure any patient waiting more than three months can be provided with a colonoscopy as a matter of priority.
The HSE said there has been an upward trend in the number of people awaiting a colonoscopy since September 2010. It added that patients referred for urgent colonoscopies were almost always seen within a month.
The consequences of long waiting times for colonoscopies were highlighted by Kilkenny woman Susie Long, whose bowel cancer diagnosis was delayed while she waited seven months for the test. She died in October 2007.