An independent review of the quality and safety of breast cancer services has concluded that significant progress has been made in providing high quality and safe care at the eight new designated centres around the country.
However, the report from the Health Information and Quality Authority says improvements are needed to make this sustainable.
It says that significant progress has been made in the establishment of the eight centres and all are meeting key requirements of national standards.
It found that last autumn, four centres were not ensuring that 95% of urgent referrals secured an appointment within two weeks, but this target has been met since December.
Some centres have well established clinical and managerial governance but others are at an early stage.
These centres at Waterford Regional Hospital, Cork University Hospital (CUH) and the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick will be revisited this year.
The report makes 18 recommendations, including a call for the appointment of a national director to oversee improvements needed in each centre and for more collaboration between the centres.
Since a series of delays in the diagnosis of breast cancer came to light in 2007, breast disease services have been transferred from over 30 public hospitals to eight.
The four in Dublin are at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, St Vincent's University Hospital, St James's Hospital and Beaumont Hospital.
The centres outside the capital are at University College Hospital Galway, CUH, the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick and Waterford Regional Hospital.
