Revelations that some public patients are waiting more than two years for a procedure to diagnose bowel cancer at hospitals throughout the State have been condemned.
The Health Service Executive confirmed today that 820 were waiting longer than three months for a colonsocopy at the end of March, despite the fact that Minister for Health Mary Harney told the HSE in December she wanted to see colonoscopies performed within four weeks of patients being referred.
The HSE said the number of people waiting longer than 12 months had been reduced from 245 in October last year to 115 in March 2009.
Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly said it was further evidence the health service was failing patients.
"While it is welcome that some hospitals have no waiting lists at all it is shocking that some patients are waiting as long as two years. Serious progress has to be made on these waiting lists as the longer
problems go undiagnosed the less chance of successful treatment and, in some cases, survival," he said.
He said Fine Gael was proposing to reform the health service and end the "two tier" system, with the Minister for Health becoming directly responsible for meeting mandatory targets to eliminate trolleys and slash waiting lists.
Labour Party spokeswoman on health Jan O'Sullivan said it appeared the HSE had learned nothing from the death of Kilkenny Susie Long in 2007. Ms Long died from bowel cancer after her diagnosis was delayed by waiting seven months for a colonoscopy.
"It is simply not acceptable that almost a third of these patients are waiting more than three months for the test. The Irish Cancer Society has consistently argued that patients should have the test within six weeks of seeing their GP, to maximise the chance of diagnosing the cancer at a stage when it can be successfully treated. And Minister Harney told the HSE to comply with a target of four weeks," she said
"It is simply not acceptable that public patients should be put at such a disadvantage because they cannot afford the cost of private insurance and a fundamental change of direction is now required to ensure prompt and efficient treatment for all."
In a statement, the HSE said waiting lists had been reduced over the past year, and it had an agreement in place with the National Treatment Purchase Fund to accommodate those in urgent need of the crucial test.
"Scheduling for colonoscopy examinations is done according to clinical need and each patient is assessed by a clinician and referred accordingly," it said.
"The data on the waiting lists does not give a breakdown of the number of patients awaiting routine check ups, those being referred for a colonoscopy because of a family history, those with ongoing bowel conditions requiring regular checks and those presenting with symptoms. Individuals with significant symptoms are clearly prioritised for examination."
