Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

For the past two decades we have seen some very significant improvements in cancer care in this country but there is a very real and very well-founded concern now that cancer care outcomes may regress if the current trend in the delays in care continue. We have an excellent framework in terms of the deadlines that have been set down within the NCCP with a 95% target of ten working days for an urgent referral and 20 days for where surgery is required. We know, however, that this is so patchy, as the Minister herself acknowledged, across hospitals and indeed will be missed by the majority of hospitals. We heard from the Irish Cancer Society this morning that 3,600 women this year are not seen within the ten-day target. All of us here have had people come to us really distressed because they are told they need an urgent appointment and then they are given an appointment, such as in one case that I was dealing with, of seven weeks later. The reality of course is that this is one part of the cancer care process. I understand that the conversion rate breast screening to diagnosis is about 8%.

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