Cian O'Callaghan

A quarter of all work carried out at the Galway University Hospital lab comes from the private hospital Bon Secours.

This extra work is overwhelming the system to such a point that samples are being outsourced to the private sector.

These delays are not abstract. They involve people waiting for cancer diagnosis.

The hospital has a deal in place to do lab work for a private hospital.

It takes place at weekends because of the way CUMH and the Rotunda operates their rosters.

This includes public patients with cancer. An early cancer diagnosis can save a life. Delayed diagnosis can be fatal.