With almost 559,000 patients waiting for their first hospital outpatient appointment, it is clear that the health authorities never got on top of the issue, says patient advocate, Stephen McMahon.

The new figures, which relate to the end of February, have been released by the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

The President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association says crude frontline budget cuts are having disastrous effects on patients.

DOCTORS only had themselves to blame for not making it clear that breast cancer can still be missed — even with the best systems in place, a leading member of the National Cancer Control Programme has claimed.

The Irish health service is expected to come under severe criticism today