David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

I took an active interest in the area of diagnostics after my mother passed. She went for a check in an emergency department and was told she would have to wait for possibly 12 to 18 months for a CT scan. We had the money to send her privately. She had that scan done in a matter of weeks, was diagnosed with cancer and, unfortunately, within a year had passed away. I know how important it is for people to get that timely access. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a person who is told they could be waiting months. They are worried about a potential growth and about symptoms. They have been sent by their GP. There is a human consequence to this. Even if we are looking at reducing the length of time people are in emergency departments, very often people waiting for the scan or X-ray to come back is what can hold up their journey through an emergency department. I believe there is merit in diagnostic hubs. I have discussed this with the Department and the HSE. I am a great believer in elective hospitals and surgical hubs. However, on this one, if we want to reach those Sláintecare targets, we have to look again. The Minister mentioned some of it, and it is welcome that she has a grasp of it, but we need to look at the whole area of diagnostics. Yes, we need more utilisation of what we have, but we also need other methods and investments to reduce wait times.

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