117 left on waiting list as theatres fail to open

ALMOST a year after the opening of the country’s newest maternity hospital, its gynaecology theatres remain closed, leaving 117 women on a waiting list, some in need of urgent procedures.

Yesterday the head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) said opening the two theatres would have an “immediate impact” on waiting lists and on improving well-documented deficiencies in gynaecology services in the Health Service Executive (HSE) South.

“We’re concerned about gynaecology services. We recognise that there are deficiencies that need to be addressed and we are working with the HSE South to ensure that the theatres open in the near future,” said consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist Professor John Higgins.