Respiratory physician Dr Aidan O Brien, who is President of the Irish Thoracic Society, says the backlog in respiratory care is putting patients at serious riskA huge backlog of undiagnosed and untreated respiratory disease is being stored up which will have “untold implications “ for patients and healthcare in the coming months and years unless urgent action is taken, a leading consultant has warned. Before COVID-19 ever happened, Ireland’s lung disease rates were already amongst the highest in the world and the numbers of respiratory specialists per capita amongst the lowest. In 2016, respiratory disease was the cause of one in five deaths in Ireland, and Ireland’s death rate from respiratory disease was the fourth highest in the EU-28 and 38pc higher than the EU average. In 2016, respiratory disease accounted for more hospitalisations than for cardiovascular and non-lung cancer cases combined. Lung diseases include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis and sleep disorders.

Source: Irish Independent June 19, 2020 14:25 UTC