Covid-19 impacts cancer test waiting list as numbers jump in dramatic spike
60% Picture There Increase In A Has File A Of The Number People For Waiting Colonoscopy Been
The Irish Cancer Society has issued a stark warning over a 60% jump in the number of people waiting for a colonoscopy.
There are now fears that delayed diagnoses could impact survival rates with one in five people on the urgent list now waiting more than 28 days to get tested. One in 10 people on both urgent and non-urgent lists have been waiting more than a year.
The latest figures reveal that by the end of September there were 18,189 people on the colonoscopy waiting list, this is 61% more compared to the same period last year.
Rachel Morragh, the Irish Cancer Society's Director of Advocacy and External Affairs said access to cancer care and diagnostics is "essentially being rationed by waiting lists."
"There will be people on both lists certainly that do have cancer and they're waiting on this diagnostic test to alert them to that."
She warned that the chances of survival dramatically decrease the longer a person has to wait for a diagnosis and treatment.
"In terms of when cancer is diagnosed, if it's diagnosed at stage one and stage two, the longer-term survival is considerably better than for those patients diagnosed with stage three and stage four.
"For colorectal cancer, which would be the most common cancer diagnosed using a colonoscopy, the five-year survival is 95% if you're diagnosed at stage one but it's only 10% if it's diagnosed at stage four."
The lack of investment in services is now "preventing people from getting the earliest diagnosis of cancer that they could" she added.
"We're seeking to raise the plight of people facing those delays. not just to colonoscopy but to other diagnostic tests, especially ahead of the budget next week and we're appealing to the government to provide very substantial funding for cancer services."
A third of people on the list have now been waiting between six and 12 months for a colonoscopy, while there has been a worrying increase in the number of patients waiting more than a year.
There are now 1,957 people who are waiting more than 12 months, which is an 82.3% increase on the number who were waiting back in May.
Although the number of people on the waiting list had been increasing slightly on a monthly basis between September 2019 and February 2020, with the exception of January 2020, the number increased significantly in March 2020 during which time public health restrictions, due to Covid-19, were put in place.
The Irish Cancer Society is now pushing for a number of immediate measures to ease waiting lists including funding for extra triage nurses to validate referral clinical data recommendations from GPs; provision of additional resources, including physical space; and the expansion of non-invasive testing.
Ms Morragh added that pill cams, or capsule colonoscopies, are an important additional measure in using innovation and additional capacity and are another pathway for patients.
She said funding appears to have been provided to support this in the Winter Plan, which is welcome, but extra training is required to expedite the further roll-out of pill cams.
A spokesperson for the HSE said the number of referrals has increased month-on-month since May. "Endoscopy units have resumed services however they are operating at 60% of their activity levels before the outbreak of Covid-19.
"This is to ensure the safety for both patients and staff within endoscopy services.
"Delays to urgent colonoscopy waiting times due to Covid-19 began to occur in March 2020 and peaked in May. The number of patients waiting greater than 28 days for an urgent colonoscopy has decreased steadily since May.
"This patient group remains a key focus for the HSE so that patients who may be more likely to have cancer or another significant GI diagnosis are prioritised for an endoscopy procedure."