An Irish politician has said that the postponement and deferral of breast and cervical cancer screenings is causing significant concern for women across Ireland, according to an article published online on 12 May in the Leitrim Observer.
Louise O'Reilly, Sinn Féin health spokesperson, told the newspaper that she's heard from women from all across the State who are concerned and worried about the postponement of breast and cervical cancer screenings by general practitioners and service providers.
"It is understandable that certain healthcare procedures have had to be postponed in line with public health advice, but it is very worrying that breast and cervical cancer screenings for those who are symptomatic, in at-risk categories, or who have a family history of breast or cervical cancer are in some cases not undergoing screening," she said in the article.
"Some of the women who have contacted me say they have had their screening appointments continuously postponed for almost two months now, with no indication as to when they will be rescheduled and carried out," she added.
O'Reilly noted that data obtained by RTÉ News shows that BreastCheck performed no mammograms in April, compared with 13,763 in the same month in 2019. Also, CervicalCheck labs processed 937 samples in April, compared with 21,037 in April of 2019.
O'Reilly said that she is awaiting a response to questions she submitted to the Minister for Health two weeks ago regarding this situation.
