For over a year, healthcare has been focused on dealing with the pandemic and treating those most sick with Covid.
However, today medical experts sought to put the spotlight on non-Covid healthcare and specifically the treatment of those with a serious illness such as cancer.
New data shared at the the National Healthcare Outcomes Conference showed there has been a 15% drop in cancer patients in public hospitals, a 38% decrease in breast cancer surgeries and a 26% decrease in colorectal surgeries during this last year.
The Irish Cancer Society said these findings are another "layer of evidence" that cancer care is being impacted dramatically during the pandemic with disruption to both treatment and surgery.
Its Chief Executive, Averil Power, said these figures are shocking but not entirely surprising.
"The really worrying thing is with cancer early detection and treatment can be the difference between life and death."
She called on the Government to "fully separate" cancer services from Covid and emergency care and put the necessary resources in place to clear the backlog of cancer care as soon as possible.
This virtual conference on non-Covid healthcare also highlighted the increase in waiting lists during the pandemic, which have risen by 31.7%.
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Another worrying statistic is that emergency surgery has seen a drop of 26%.
Addressing the conference, Kenneth Mealy, Chair of the Board of National Office of Clinical Audit, warned that some people will see their health deteriorate while they await medical care.
"There is a clear impact here for serious non-Covid conditions. It's important that these patients are quickly identified, so they can receive the care they need. Many will be in pain and their conditions will deteriorate while they wait."
He noted that "scheduled healthcare will always be compromised" when hospitals are under pressure.
Mr Mealey said the health system has been "reasonably good" in prioritising certain patients for surgery but he highlighted the difficulties such as if someone who is in chronic pain awaiting a hip replacement should be prioritised over someone who needs a cataract operation.
He said in contrast it is relatively easy to identify patients with a cancer that is life-threatening.
"There is a whole grey area of patients with intermediate problems which in an ideal functioning health service would be dealt with in a timely fashion. And that is a huge challenge, a huge logistical challenge, a huge ethical challenge for any doctor who has to look after these patients."
It was not all negative as the conference also revealed findings that during Covid there has been some improvements in how promptly people have been treated in hospital for certain complications such as strokes and hip fractures.
The National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) also shared information that indicates high quality patient care has been provided throughout the pandemic.
While considering the knock-on effects of Covid on healthcare, the hope expressed at this conference was there will be more debate about how non-Covid treatments can be provided and sustained going forward.
It comes at a crucial time as the HSE recently outlined its plans to resume all its services that have been affected by Covid-19 between now and December.
