JOE GUILFOYLE (64) says he finished his treatment for prostate cancer in 2006. When he went back for a check-up in March 2007 his doctor told him he would be referred for a colonoscopy as he was "bleeding a lot" from his rectum.
He said he had to wait until November 2007 for the colonoscopy at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) but when he returned for the results in December, he met a doctor who told him only a partial colonoscopy had been carried out and he would be called back for a full colonoscopy in early January.
He is still waiting to be recalled and all the while is "bleeding as much as ever".
He described the amount of blood he was losing as "frightening".
He said he had lost faith in the HSE. "Susie Long waited seven months for a colonoscopy and they vowed afterwards it would never happen again . . . and look how long I'm waiting," he said.
Meanwhile, the HSE - which runs WRH - said it would ask any patient who has a concern about their treatment to make contact with the hospital directly or through their GP where the matter could be discussed and addressed as appropriate.
Another patient waiting for a colonoscopy in Dublin is asking similar questions.
A 47-year-old woman who has been waiting months for a colonoscopy at a Dublin hospital said yesterday she wondered if any lessons had been learned from what happened to the late Susie Long.
The woman, who doesn't wish to be identified, said that when she noticed bleeding from her back passage last November she attended her GP for a check-up.
Her GP referred her to the Mater hospital for a colonoscopy. She is still waiting to be seen - her appointment for the internal bowel examination is scheduled for late April.
She has had to return to her GP a number of times since and her GP was doing everything possible to speed up the appointment, she added.
"I still have bleeding on and off. I've been very tired and not feeling myself lately," she explained. "I shouldn't be waiting that long . . . for all anybody knows I could have the same thing as Susie Long.
"It's wrong . . . did nobody learn from Susie's battle. You'd wonder have they learnt anything?"
A spokeswoman for the Mater said urgent referrals for colonoscopies were seen at the hospital within three weeks while routine referrals may have to wait up to six months to be seen.