Hospital forced to cancel surgeries

University Hospital Galway (UHG) has joined a growing number of hospitals forced to cancel surgery in an effort to deal with emergency department (ED) overcrowding.

In the past week, 80 non-urgent scheduled operations were cancelled at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and the Mercy University Hospital (MUH), with both hospitals appealing to the public to only attend the ED in an absolute emergency. MUH was forced to cancel 49 procedures while CUH cancelled 31.

Yesterday, MUH warned it was again experiencing a surge of patients attending its ED and it advised people to avail of other care services where possible, such as South Doc out-of-hours service, or the Mercy Urgent Care Centre at St Mary’s Health Campus, Cork City.