Cork University Hospital cancels surgeries for two weeks

All scheduled surgery has been cancelled at Cork University Hospital for two weeks over Christmas, despite there being almost 1,500 people on waiting lists.

Management at CUH had planned to shut down theatres for three weeks, but this was blocked by senior medical staff.

The Irish Examiner has learned the proposed three-week closure was met with “total resistance” by surgeons and anaesthetists on the basis it could result in worse outcomes for patients.

Despite this resistance, the hospital is to cease elective (non-urgent) surgery from today to Monday, January 8, at a time when there are 1,431 people on the inpatient/day-case waiting list.

Of these, 348 are awaiting general surgery, including 210 waiting six months or more, and 43 waiting 18-months plus.

Figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund show 236 people on a waiting list for plastic surgery, including:

• 50 who are waiting more than 18 months;
• 54 people awaiting breast surgery;
• 62 awaiting cardio-thoracic surgery;
• 19 awaiting neurosurgery;
• 25 on orthopaedic waiting list;
• 88 awaiting vascular surgery.

Staff concerns over the proposed theatre closures, and the potential impact on patients of further surgical delays, are recorded in the draft minutes of a theatre operations management group meeting seen by the Irish Examiner. The group includes five surgeons and two anaesthetists.

The minutes outline how Patrick Seigne, clinical director and chair of the group, said he had received a letter from CUH chief executive Tony McNamara in relation to theatre closures.

The minutes state: “One option proposed in the letter was the cessation of elective surgical activity until Monday, January 15, 2018... this proposal was met with total resistance, particularly as it could potentially have an impact on patient outcome, as well as impacting KPI [key performance indicator]/charter timeframes. This will ultimately mean that there will be three full weeks where there will be no elective surgery carried out at CUH.”

The hospital has since confirmed that elective surgery will cease for just over two weeks.

When the Irish Examiner asked CUH why it was closing down elective surgery, it replied: “It is a standard policy in all hospitals to curtail routine elective surgery to allow for a surge in trauma cases over the Christmas period.”

However, when the Irish Examiner contacted other hospitals comparable to CUH, it emerged that not all restrict elective surgery.

The Mater University Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin said elective surgery will not be disrupted over the holiday season.

University Hospital Limerick said its curtailment of elective surgery extended to just three days: December 27-29.

University Hospital Galway said it planned to scale back on electives over Christmas and the new year, but gave no further detail.

A spokesperson for St James’ Hospital said there will be no elective surgery on Christmas Day or St Stephen’s Day.

The spokesperson said while the hospital “endeavours to perform some elective surgeries over the holiday period, it can be difficult to get patients to agree to come in so the level of activity during this time will not be known until the week before Christmas”.

Beaumont Hospital said elective surgery will be “limited during the latter half of December through January”, but failed to provide any further detail.

A spokesperson for the South/South-west Hospital Group said the following theatres will be fully operational in order to meet emergency requirements: Two orthopaedic trauma theatres; one neurosurgery theatre; one plastic surgery theatre; and one emergency surgery theatre.

The Irish Examiner asked CUH how many elective surgeries would not take place as a result of cessation, but no response was forthcoming.

The hospital also failed to clarify if any attempt had been made to use theatre capacity in other hospitals in the hospital group during the Christmas period, including private hospitals.