Shock and disbelief surround new figures from Letterkenny University Hospital which show that 539 planned operations were cancelled in the last two years.
The high number of elective surgical cancellations has been branded as ‘deplorable’ and ‘beyond belief’ by Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty.
Insufficient bed capacity in Letterkenny was determined as the primary reason for the overwhelming majority of surgeries having to be cancelled since 2017, according to information revealed by the HSE to Deputy Doherty.
A small number of surgeries were cancelled by patients themselves, with 19 patient cancellations recorded in 2018 and 8 in 2017.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty said he sought the data following contact from concerned patients and families.
He said the figures make for sobering reading.
“I have now received this data from the HSE and the figures make for sobering reading to say the least,” Deputy Doherty said.
“They show that a total of 539 planned surgeries and procedures which had been scheduled to take place at the hospital either last year or in 2017 were subsequently cancelled.
“What’s even more worrying is the fact that of these, insufficient bed capacity at the hospital was the chief reason for the cancellation of 404 separate procedures during this period – that is deplorable and beyond belief.
“And in spite of what are the feeble and pathetic attempts by government and the HSE to point to non attendance by patients as a reason for surgeries having to be cancelled or deferred, the data which I’ve received show that this simply is not the case.
“Because when we examine the data closely we see that only a tiny minority of cancelled surgeries at Letterkenny over the past two years have been down to patients cancelling the appointment themselves, with only 19 patient cancellations recorded last year and just 8 in 2017.”
Deputy Doherty slammed the fact that a lack of beds caused 75% of cancellations as a ‘scandalous situation’.
“This data however underscores exactly what we in Sinn Féin and indeed others have been saying for years now: that government is continuing to under resource our hospitals and that there is a chronic lack of beds in the system,” Deputy Doherty said.
He added that questions remain over when beds will open in the LUH Short Stay Ward and reiterated his and Sinn Féin’s lack of confidence in government to fix current health problems.