Over 160 chemotherapy appointments for children in Ireland were cancelled over a three month period in 2022.
The figures from the HSE show that from July to September, 198 other chemotherapy appointments were also cancelled.
During the same period, 48 dialysis appointments scheduled to take place at Cork University Hospital were also cancelled, reports RTE.
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The HSE has said that the cancellations could have been caused by a number of factors, including high emergency department attendance and unforeseen circumstances such as infection outbreaks.
Speaking about the figures, Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane, said overcrowding had been the driving force behind the high numbers of cancellations.
He said: "The fact that 162 chemotherapy appointments for children with cancer were cancelled in the last few months is a shameful indictment of the Government's failure to invest in our children's hospitals."
Rescheduling of the appointments is completed on an urgency basis.
In urgent cases, appointments must be rescheduled within one week. However, in semi-urgent and non-urgent cases, they should be, where possible, rescheduled within three weeks.
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