51,000 Women Overdue for BreastCheck: Monaghan Senator Robbie Gallagher Says Vacancies Must Be Filled
More than 51,000 women are waiting beyond the target time for repeat BreastCheck screening. Monaghan Senator Robbie Gallagher says he is 'deeply concerned' and wants the Health Minister to fill vacancies urgently.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
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Castle Leslie, Glaslough. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Olliebailie · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
More than 51,000 women are waiting longer than their target time for repeat BreastCheck screening, the Irish Independent has reported, as the service struggles with staffing shortages. The backlog and recruitment problems were also discussed on Virgin Media's Ireland AM on 14 October.
Co Monaghan Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher told Northern Sound he is "deeply concerned" by the figures. Behind every one of those statistics, he said, is a woman and a family, and potentially a life depending on early detection.
Why the delays
Senator Gallagher said he appreciates there has been a significant increase in the number of women eligible for screening, but that it is deeply concerning the delay is due to a lot of vacancies still to be filled. He called on the Health Minister to expedite filling them urgently.
What to do if you're worried
He urged any woman with concerns to contact BreastCheck and have them addressed. BreastCheck is the national screening programme; women with symptoms should not wait for a screening invitation and should contact their GP.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
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