Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that cancer survivors are being failed by the state after figures from the HSE revealed that thousands of breast cancer patients were overdue their annual mammogram post-surgery in hospitals right across the state.

Teachta Crowe said:

“Thousands of breast cancer survivors are overdue their annual mammogram post-surgery, according to figures released to me by the HSE this week.

“The issue is extremely severe in Cork and the West and North West regions with 1,163 people overdue in Cork University Hospital alone. And there is no service at all in Castlebar currently, forcing patients to travel to Galway for the mammography service there, almost an 80km journey.

“So, not only did BreastCheck miss its target number for screenings last year by 30%, or almost 60,000 people, even survivors of breast cancer who have gone through surgery cannot all get their annual mammogram.

“Unfortunately, I received no numbers for Dublin hospitals and some of them do not even have a means of tracking patients who are overdue a scan. This raises serious questions about how we are monitoring the aftercare necessary to ensure the best outcomes for patients.

“Around 3,500 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and while survival rates have increased dramatically in recent decades, this is down to early detection and much improved aftercare post-recovery. We are going backwards in both of these areas under this government however.

“This government must take its head out of the sand and realise that its whole strategy to providing healthcare is not delivering for the Irish people and certainly not for those living with cancer.”