MORE than 1,000 surgeries and admissions at UHG had to be cancelled in the first three months of 2024 due to overcrowding at the hospital.

At a meeting of Regional Health Forum West, City Councillor John Connolly (FF) sought figures for the number of elective procedures that had to be postponed due to bed shortages at UHG.

Interim Saolta Chief Executive Officer, Ann Cosgrove, outlined that some 983 day cases had to be cancelled and rescheduled in quarter one of this year, and 156 elective inpatient admissions were also put on hold.

That was more than 300 additional day-case procedures postponed compared to the same period last year. In total, 2,728 day cases had to be rescheduled in 2023.

While more up-to-date figures were not provided, Ms Cosgrove said record-breaking attendance figures at UHG’s emergency department in May and June had put additional strain on the hospital’s capacity.

“This leads to increased numbers of admissions, putting extra pressure on bed capacity within the hospital. Some capacity may be required in our surgical day ward during periods of escalation and, as a result, some elective procedures may be postponed.

“We are also experiencing high numbers of cancer and time-sensitive urgent cases which need to be prioritised, thus postponing or delaying elective procedures,” she said.

Ms Cosgrove said guidelines dictated that any appointment cancelled was deferred and rescheduled within six weeks of the original appointment date.

“We continue to offer our patients offers of outsourcing for treatment via the National Treatment Purchase Fund and also to insource at weekends, providing additional capacity for procedures where possible,” she said.

The new surgical hub at Merlin Park would be the solution to this issue, she continued, as its operation would not be impacted by numbers attending ED.

“It will be completed by quarter three of next year and in the interim, we have to manage this through weekend work and using external capacity in private hospitals,” said Ms Cosgrove.

Pictured: UHG: more than 2,700 day cases rescheduled last year.