Cian O'Callaghan: “These delays are not abstract. They involve people waiting for cancer diagnosis.”

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

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

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

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