A leading oncologist says it's vitally important that healthcare staff are vaccinated to avoid further disruptions to cancer screening services.
The Oireachtas Health Committee heard yesterday that disruptions during the pandemic may lead to people presenting for treatment at later stages of the disease.
Consultant Medical Oncologist at Cork University Hospital Professor Seamus O'Reilly says healthcare staff in the community as well as in hospitals should ensure they're vaccinated.
"It needs to be safe for patients to come to hospitals, and staff need to be vaccinated I feel, and our vaccinations are waring off.
"It's important to emphasise that when our vaccination roll out happened initially it was to hospital based staff, I think it needs to be community based staff as well.
"General practice are probably much more vulnerable in terms of staffing levels than hospital based staff at the moment."
