The Workers’ Party have said that a new report by the Irish Cancer Society into waiting times for people requiring urgent medical investigation or treatment into potentially life-threatening cancers is a damning indictment of Ireland’s class and income based health care system.
Cork Workers’ Party councillor Ted Tynan said that the report clearly showed a correlation between a person’s ability to pay and their accessing of tests for life-threatening cancers and other serious conditions. This undoubtedly must influence survival rates for such conditions said Cllr. Tynan.
The report showed that Waiting times for potentially lifesaving tests for cancer are up to 25 times longer for public patients than for those who can afford to pay for private healthcare. Whereas a private patient can expect to have tests done within days for spinal, musculoskeletal or brain scans, those in the public system may be left waiting for four months or longer according to the report.
Cllr. Tynan said that the report showed that a century after the 1916 Proclamation promised to cherish all citizens equally Ireland continues to be a class-ridden society when it comes to access to healthcare. “We have known for many years”, said Cllr. Tynan, “that those with wealth are likely to have better outcomes when it comes to medical assessment and treatment for serious conditions like cancer. We now have proof of this inequality and discrimination in this stark report by the Irish Cancer Society”,