Almost 90% of urgent breast cancer referrals at Letterkenny University Hospital were not seen within the HSE’s two-week target in April.
Figures from the HSE management data report for April show that just 11.8 per cent of patients referred urgently for assessment were seen within the recommended timeframe.
Letterkenny recorded the poorest performance in the HSE West and North West region.
Compliance with the two-week target fell sharply from 81.9% in January to 6.5 % in February and 6.6% in March, before improving slightly to 11.8% in April.
By comparison, hospitals in the HSE Dublin and South East region achieved almost 100% compliance with the two-week target throughout the first four months of the year.
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(HSE Statement)
Within the HSE West and North West region, the NCCP designated Symptomatic Breast Centre is at University Hospital Galway (UHG) with a satellite centre in Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH). These dedicated cancer service centres are fully committed to and focused on providing safe, high quality compassionate care to all patients with breast symptoms and we continue to work with the NCCP to ensure services are delivered within national standards and in line with demand.
Achieving Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) in the breast service remains an ongoing challenge due to consultant vacancies. There have been delays in recruiting a second Consultant Breast Surgeon in LUH, however a Locum Breast Surgeon has now accepted the position with a commencement date of the 19th August 2026. Once in situ the breast waiting list will be immediately addressed.
In addition, a second Breast Radiologist commenced work at the Hospital in December 2025 in a temporary capacity, pending appointment to a permanent position. This supports triple assessment clinics. A triple assessment clinic involves three key components: a clinical examination by a specialist, imaging such as a mammogram or ultrasound, and a biopsy if necessary.
There are 18 Breast Clinics scheduled for August and this number will increase once the second Breast Surgeon commences their role.
A total of 87 clinics were scheduled where a total of 782 patients with urgent referrals to the clinic were seen in the first 6 months of 2026 and a further 269 patients with non urgent referrals.
All patients with a diagnosis of primary breast cancer from the symptomatic breast service are discussed at a Multidisciplinary meeting. These are patients who have had a biopsy histopathology report that indicated invasive or in situ primary breast cancer.
For primary invasive or in situ tumours surgical intervention will be carried out within 20 working days of the date of the multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) when a B5 or C5 diagnosis (malignancy) was first identified, provided surgery is the first treatment.
Plans to develop the cancer centre infrastructure at UHG are progressing as part of the Model 4 hospital capital development. In LUH plans are progressing to deliver 30 Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment, (SACT), treatment chairs in a new state of the art facility as part of the surgical hub development. Both these developments will help to support the strength of the Cancer Network in the West and North West.
The HSE West and North West University of Galway Cancer Network was accredited by the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) In June 2025, the 20th such network to achieve cancer centre accreditation across Europe. The OECI Accreditation and Designation programme is considered internationally as the gold standard for cancer care. It focuses on enabling a complete quality system for cancer diagnosis, care, education and research. This process has helped to strengthen our clinical pathways across the region, improve patient’s outcomes through enhanced processes and will ultimately help to increase the numbers of patients participating in clinical trials.
Letterkenny University Hospital is committed to the delivery of the Urgent Colonoscopy Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Achievement of this target is being challenged by a sustained increase in demand for urgent colonoscopy procedures. A number of wait list initiatives are underway in LUH to reduce the amount of time people are waiting for colonoscopies.
In addition, the WNW Region is undertaking a Demand and Capacity Analysis Review of Endoscopy Services across the region. This review aims to identify capacity and demand gaps, as well as opportunities for service improvement and development, all of which will support the delivery of the Urgent Colonoscopy KPI and enhance access to timely endoscopy services.
