Patients face delays in getting urgent appointments for breast cancer checks

ONE in five patients in urgent need of assessment for breast cancer is not being referred for evaluation within the required two-week timeframe.

The longest delays occurred at Dublin’s Mater Hospital, according to an analysis of referral times for the first seven months of the year.

Figures contained in a Health Service Executive (HSE) report show just over half (615 out of 1,155) of patients attending the Mater, who were urgent referrals, were offered an appointment within two-weeks. Failure to accommodate patients within this timeframe is a breach of standards set down by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).