St James's Hospital in Dublin has been awarded a major European recognition.
The hospital said its Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is the first here to be awarded European accreditation in thoracic surgery from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS).
St James's provides surgical care to around 55% of the Irish population with lung cancer and the accreditation recognises the role the hospital plays in improving national survival rates from the disease.
Around 2,600 patients are diagnosed with lung cancer in Ireland each year.
Doctors say the disease is often caught too late to allow for surgical intervention.
Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at St James's, Gerard Fitzmaurice, said that the hospital has the most up to date data on lung cancer in Ireland and is the only centre which submits data to the ESTS.
