1,300 miss breast cancer targets

MORE than 1,300 women with suspected breast cancer were not referred to the appropriate specialist service within the recommended two-week timeframe set down by the independent health watchdog.

Health Service Executive (HSE) figures show that between January and November last year, 13% of 9,894 “urgent” cases were not seen within a fortnight as recommended by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The figures also show that of 19,708 non-urgent cases, 3,432 women were not referred to breast cancer symptomatic services within the 12-week recommended timeframe. This represents 17% of the total.

Labour Party health spokesperson Jan O’Sullivan said the referral targets had been set “for good reasons” and that if a case was classified “urgent” then it should be seenimmediately.

“These figures show despite the fact that the Government has been heralding a lot of success in the area of cancer treatment, there are still glaring problems,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

Fine Gael health spokesperson Dr James Reilly said Ms Harney’s responsibility was to ensure the HSE delivered on targets.

“It is all very well to talk about specialist centres for treating breast cancer but if they are not resourced properly, they cannot succeed. Moreover if a GP thinks a case is urgent, then that patient needs to be seen ASAP, because, apart from the medical implications, the stress a woman and her family endures while waiting to be seen is enormous and quite needless,” Dr Reilly said.

However a spokesperson for the National Cancer Control Programme(NCCP) said all centres where symptomatic breast cancer is treated are now reaching or exceeding the target of 95% compliance with HIQA standards.

Seven of the centres – Beaumont, St Vincent’s, University College Hospital Galway, Waterford Regional, Limerick Regional, St James and Letterkenny – have recorded 100% compliance. Cork University Hospital was at 93.6% in November, but this was at a time when transfer of services from the South Infirmary Victoria Hospital was being completed.

At 100% compliance CUH exceeded the non-urgent referral target. Limerick, at 46.7%, had the lowest compliance rate for non-urgent cases but the NCCP spokesperson said this was a resource issue which has been addressed.

She said centres had made “phenomenal achievements” in reaching referral targets, and that the reason some women waited more than two weeks during 2009 was largely due to the interruption to services in the Mater Hospital during the year.

“We are satisfied that most of these women would have been seen within three weeks and that timeframe is clinically still ok,” the spokesperson said.