Galway men face delays for prostate cancer examinations
Galway Bay fm newsroom - Just over a fifth of men referred to hospital in Galway for suspected prostate cancer are getting fast-tracked, compared to 100 percent of patients at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
According to today's Irish Independent, the men are referred to rapid access clinics by their GPs, where they should be given an appointment within 20 days.
The rapid-access clinics were set up in 8 hospitals providing cancer care and were intended that men with symptoms of prostate cancer could bypass the normal route to be seen.
Only 22 percent of men referred to University Hospital Galway are seen within the target 20 day timeframe.
This compares to a one hundred percent rate at Beaumont and Mater Hospitals in Dublin.
According to the National Cancer Care Programme, there is extra pressure on services in the West as the prevalence of prostate cancer along the Western seaboard is higher than the rest of the country.
Another urolgist with expertise in cancer care is due to be appointed to the Galway team shortly.