Cancer test results backlog in southeast a matter of 'grave concern', says Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar also said it is below the standard of care that the State seeks to provide to people 

Outside the Emergency Department at Unveristy Hospital Waterford at 2-10 pm Tuesday afternoon.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said it is a matter of “grave concern” that up to 6,000 patients are waiting several months for cancer test results.

Mr Varadkar also said it is below the standard of care that the State seeks to provide to people. The Irish Examiner reported people are in a “living nightmare” waiting for their results due to a major backlog in the southeast.

Senior medical sources have warned that up to 2,000 patients from St Luke’s Hospital, and thousands more from South Tipperary General Hospital and Waterford University Hospital are being forced to wait “up to six months in some cases” for their results because of a backlog at the laboratory at Waterford.

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.

The matter was raised by Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane during Leaders’ Questions. Mr Varadkar said the delay in test results causes “great anxiety for patients and it does run the risk of delayed diagnosis and poor outcomes even though these are routine not urgent examples”. 

“It is below the standard of care that we seek to provide that people should have to wait several months for the result of any test that they have,” Mr Varadkar said.

He said the hospital group has confirmed that corrective measures have been put in place and confirmed that all urgent samples have continued to be processed without delay. Corrective measures include the transfer of histopathology samples and reporting to other labs.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "I don't think it's up to the standard of care that we seek to provide as a government that anyone should be waiting months for the results of a scan or a laboratory test and we are going to get on top of this." Photo: Government Information Service

“Additional histopathology reporting sessions by consultant pathologists in Waterford, the engagement of agency medical scientists and additional sessions by medical scientists in the hospital.

“Further additional resources are required though to meet the demand capacity gap for this vital regional service and recruitment or rather approval for recruitment of additional consultants of histopathologists has been granted,” Mr Varadkar said.

The Taoiseach told the Dáil that the hospital has received considerable increases in resources in the past two years. He said the number of staff has increased by almost 20% and the hospital's budget has increased by almost 20%.

He said the Government acknowledged that there is still a gap between demand and capacity and that is why authorisation has been given to appoint new consultants who are needed.

A spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that the HSE has established a joint Serious Incident Management Team with SSWHG and IEHG. The HSE will keep the department updated.

However, Mr Cullinane said he spoke to hospital management on Wednesday morning following the revelations in the Irish Examiner and he said he was informed that the transfer of samples is not happening at the pace that was promised.

He also claimed that hospital management also told him that there is a risk of cancer in some of the samples. He said: “We need to get them processed, each of these patients need to be assured that our samples will be processed as soon as possible.” 

Mr Varadkar said he will speak to the hospital managers this week on the matter and said there are many ways to get on top of the backlog including the transfer of staff to labs.

The Tasoieach said:

But as you have acknowledged, the risk here is low because these are not urgent samples. But as I've acknowledged the risk is not negligible.

“And I don't think it's up to the standard of care that we seek to provide as a government that anyone should be waiting months for the results of a scan or a laboratory test and we are going to get on top of this,” Mr Varadkar added.

The South/South West Hospital Group has insisted that the delay is affecting “routine” cases and that all urgent cases continue to be processed, but medics and politicians have queried this claim. Kilkenny Fianna Fáil TD, John McGuinness, said if the tests were not being examined, “how do they know they are not urgent?"

He said the HSE must immediately contact those affected and keep them updated and it shows that the State has failed to learn the critical lessons of past failures.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the South/South West Hospital Group said: “There is currently a backlog in relation to routine samples where the demand is exceeding capacity. All urgent samples have been and continue to be processed without delay. Additional sessions are ongoing to address the backlog of routine samples.”