6,700 patients waited longer than target time for urgent colonoscopy

Olympian Ciara Mageean on the pitch at half-time during this year's GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final between Galway and Limerick at Croke Park in Dublin. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

More than 6,700 people waited longer than the target time for an urgent colonoscopy this year, according to new HSE figures.

Bowel Cancer Ireland called for more supports and a national awareness campaign to help people identify the early symptoms of the disease.

The charity said the age profile of bowel cancer is changing, with almost one in 10 diagnoses in Ireland now occurring in people under 50.

The appeal follows the death of Olympian Ciara Mageean, 34, who had spoken publicly about being diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease.

Brendan Dolan, the chairman of Bowel Cancer Ireland, said younger people are often diagnosed later because symptoms can be mistaken for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.

“Sometimes with digestive cancers there can be a bit of victim-shaming, of saying ‘oh it’s because of diet and lifestyle that people get cancers’ but Ciara Mageean just proves the lie to that,” he said.

“It’s just not fair to say it’s due to lifestyle choices, it really isn’t.” 

Mr Dolan called for a publicity campaign, explaining: “If you are eligible for screening in terms of age, it is by far the most effective tool we have,” he said. 

“It gets to the cancer before it becomes cancer.” 

Screening is only available for people aged 57-71 — the Government has said it plans to lower the screening age to 50. 

Bowel Cancer Ireland chairman Brendan Dolan was himself treated for the disease seven years ago. Read his story at the link below this photo. Picture: Moya Nolan

Mr Dolan warned: “There’s no indication yet how or when that’s going to happen because there’s no capacity to increase colonoscopies.” 

Waiting list figures show that 6,775 new patients waited longer than the recommended 28 days for a colonoscopy after referral between January and July this year. 

In July alone, 1,248 patients breached the target waiting time.

The HSE’s latest management data report said this represents a 65.2% increase during the same seven-month period in 2025.

Naas General Hospital accounted for the highest number of breaches, with 1,164 new patients waiting longer than the target time for an urgent colonoscopy.

There were 735 breaches across hospitals in Cork and Kerry, 428 across the HSE Mid West region, and 223 across HSE Dublin and South East hospitals.

Mr Dolan urged people of all ages to learn the signs of the disease. 

“The challenge is to get people to be much more tuned into what’s normal or not normal, so they can go to the doctor sooner. But because of the subject matter, people tend to put it off,” he said.

The HSE advises people to watch for symptoms including changes in bowel habits or stool consistency, blood in the stool, or rectal bleeding.

Ciara Mageean’s funeral takes place at 2pm in St Patrick’s Church, Ballyphilip, Co Down, followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.