Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electronic referrals to rapid access clinics for suspected breast, lung and prostate cancers in Ireland

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Levi

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted cancer services worldwide, prompting an analysis of its impact on electronic referrals to rapid access clinics (RACs) in Ireland. The study assessed the first three pandemic waves by comparing observed numbers of e-referrals for suspected breast, lung, and prostate cancers against predicted weekly counts. Predictions used a retrospective repeated cross-sectional design with Holt-Winters seasonal smoothing based on a pre-pandemic period.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background on COVID-19 and cancer service disruption

Methods

Study design and prediction approach

Results

Referral patterns across pandemic waves

Conclusions

Implications for surveillance and rapid response

European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 34, No. 5, 908–913 \# The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License ([https://creativecommons](https://creativecommons). org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [journals.permissions@oup.com](journals.permissions@oup.com) [https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae092](https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae092) Advance Access published on 19 August 2024 Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electronic referrals to rapid access clinics for suspected breast, lung and prostate cancers in Ireland Niamh Bambury 1, 2, 6, 􀀃 , Mengyang Zhang3, Triona McCarthy2, Ian Dawkins2, Louise Burke4, Paula Tierney 1, Paul M. Walsh 1, Patrick Redmond5, Maeve Mullooly 3, Deirdre Murray 1, 6, Kathleen Bennett3 1 National Cancer Registry in Ireland, Cork, Ireland 2 National Cancer Control Programme, Dublin 1, Ireland 3 School of Population Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin 2, Ireland 4 Department of Pathology, Cork University Hospital/School of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland 5 Department of General Practice, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin 2, Ireland 6 School of Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland 􀀃 Correspondence: Niamh Bambury, National Cancer Registry, Cork Airport Business Park, Building 6800, Kinsale Road, Cork T12 CDF7, Ireland, e-mail: [nbambury@yahoo.com](nbambury@yahoo.com) Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted cancer services worldwide. We examined the effect of the first three pandemic waves on the number of electronic (e)-referrals to rapid access clinics (RACs) for breast, lung and prostate cancer in Ireland. Methods: This study used a retrospective, repeated crosssectional design. The predicted weekly number of e-referrals by suspected cancer types from March 2020 to May 2021 was calculated using the Holt-Winters seasonal smoothing method, based on the observed numbers from a representative pre-pandemic period (01 January 2019 to 01 March 2020) and compared this with the observed number across the first three pandemic waves (02 March 2020 to 09 May 2021) . Percentage differences were calculated between observed and predicted numbers of e-referrals for the three RACs and patterns were examined in each wave. Results: Observed e-referrals were lower than predicted for all three RACs in the first wave of the pandemic (15.7% lower for breast, 39.5% lower for lung and 28.1% lower for prostate) with varying levels of recovery in the second and third waves for the three e-referral types. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted patterns of e-referrals to RACs in the first three pandemic waves in Ireland. Early identification of changes in engagement with health services, such as a decrease in primary care presentations with a resultant decrease in e-referrals to RACs can allow for a rapid response from cancer control programmes. Continued surveillance of the impact of service disruption on cancer services allows policy makers and strategic leaders in cancer control programmes to respond rapidly to mitigate the impact on cancer outcomes. Introduction In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the out break of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), to be a global pandemic.1 The first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case was confirmed in Ireland on 29th February 2020.2 From 12th March, the level of public health mitigation measures was upgraded due to the increasing high rate of COVID-19 infection, which impacted on healthcare services.3 In response to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the acute ho

FAQs

What did the study examine in Ireland during the first three COVID-19 waves?

It examined how the number of electronic (e-)referrals to rapid access clinics changed for suspected breast, lung, and prostate cancers during the first three pandemic waves.

How were predicted e-referral numbers generated for comparison?

Predicted weekly e-referrals were calculated from March 2020 to May 2021 using the Holt-Winters seasonal smoothing method based on observed pre-pandemic data from January 2019 to March 2020.

What was the key finding about e-referrals compared with predictions in the first wave?

Observed e-referrals were lower than predicted for all three clinic types in the first wave, with declines of 15.7% for breast, 39.5% for lung, and 28.1% for prostate.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Levi