Dr. Gabrielle Colleran:

It is important for people to understand the impact of the cyberattack on cancer services. We are having issues with accessing prior results and imaging. We have not been able to deliver our multidisciplinary team meetings, at which we discuss radiology, pathology and clinical updates and decisions are made, for the past three weeks. That all causes delays in treatment and, ultimately, impacts on prognosis, so addressing the cyberattack is key.

What we have learned from Covid is that when local decision makers are empowered, such as the doctors within specific hospitals in Wexford, Galway and Limerick, they know where the capacity deficits are and where the blocks in the system are. In the pathway, as Ms Power articulated well, the patient first has to present to the GP, who then has to refer him or her on, and the referral has to be promptly seen. The patient has to get access to the radiology, biopsies and diagnostics and the space has to be available in theatre. There has to be a bed in ICU for someone to return to afterwards and then there has to be a spot in the day ward for chemotherapy.

There are so many potential places where we can have a gap or a backlog, and it is the people on the front line who know where that specific local gap is and can say what is needed, such as more radiologists or radiographers in order that the diagnostic scans can be processed. They will know where the backlog is in Wexford or Galway, for example. It is about empowering local clinicians to put in those fixes because they know where the blocks are locally. That is how we can make the fixes specific to the areas. A blunderbuss central approach is too slow and too reactive. We saw that during Covid and again following the cyberattack. It is about empowering and giving the resources to the people on the front line who can offer the solutions. That is how we will provide excellent outcomes.