Skin Cancer treatment and surgery now available to Irish Life Health patients at Affidea ExpressCare Clinic, Tallaght

June, 2020

– Clinic will act as an alternative skin cancer treatment centre for Irish Life Health insured patients

– Service will help address delays and backlogs resulting from Covid-19

Skin cancer treatment and reconstructive surgery will now be offered to Irish Life Health insured patients at Affidea ExpressCare Clinic in Tallaght, Dublin. This new service, which has been in planning for some time, has been accelerated as a result of the long delays and the backlog of procedures currently being experienced by patients with private health insurance. The first skin cancer procedure was carried out at the Affidea ExpressCare Clinic this week.

Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, the majority of patients would have their skin cancer surgery done within two to six weeks following initial consultation in a private hospital. This timeline has been severely disrupted with the take-over of private hospitals by the HSE who were anticipating a surge of Covid-19 patients being admitted to public hospitals. In addition, increasing numbers of new referrals for suspicious skin lesions has caused further backlogs.

The Affidea ExpressCare Clinic in Tallaght will now act as a fully-approved alternative treatment centre for patients who have had certain procedures cancelled or delayed due to Covid-19. This new service is performed safely under local anaesthetic at the Affidea minor procedure clinical facility and will cater to the majority of patients with skin cancer.

Mr. Fuan Chan, MD FRCSI (PLAST), a fully accredited consultant plastic surgeon is

the clinical advisor for plastic surgery and dermatological service at Affidea. He welcomes this new service as it will be a significant comfort to patients and their families who have had procedures delayed due to the current health service crisis.

“The take-over of private hospitals by the HSE was the correct measure at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis but it has resulted in a severe impediment to the care of non-Covid-19 patients. Currently, there are approximately 2.2 million health insured patients left without access to their standard clinical care pathways. By delaying a potential diagnosis, it puts patients at an increased risk of needing to undergo more extensive surgery, while also creating a backlog of procedures that have been cancelled due to the pandemic.”

“I’m delighted that we can continue to provide these vital surgeries thanks to Affidea and Irish Life Health. We are taking every precaution to reduce the spread of infection while ensuring each patient receives the safest care possible.”

Affidea Ireland, which was established here in 2007, is part of the European Group, Affidea, which has 280 advanced diagnostic imaging, outpatient and cancer care centres across 16 countries. Focused on providing high quality affordable care, the company sees over 7 million patients per year, performs over 14 million examinations annually and works with over 9,400 professionals, of which 3,000 are medical doctors.

For more details, check out www.affidea.ie or

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Skin Cancer treatment and surgery now available to Irish Life Health patients at Affidea ExpressCare Clinic, Tallaght

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