Waterford cancer lab backlog leaves up to 6,000 patients in limbo

Bosses at Waterford University Hospital have issued an emergency alert to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly because “demand is exceeding capacity” resulting in the delay to tests being screened. File picture: Denis Minihane

Up to 6,000 patients are in “a living nightmare” due to a wait of several months for cancer test results because of a major laboratory backlog in the southeast, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

Bosses at Waterford University Hospital have issued an emergency alert to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly because “demand is exceeding capacity” resulting in the delay to tests being screened.