Cancelled surgeries could impact 1,000 people per day

The HSE's chief operations officer Anne O'Connor said yesterday that she supports hospitals postponing elective surgeries in the face of rising Covid-19 admission. File Picture

The covid-enforced widespread cancellation of elective surgeries could impact 1,000 patients per day, it has been claimed.

It comes as two professors at University Hospital Limerick have called for the setting up of an elective surgery hospital in the region.

The HSE's chief operations officer Anne O'Connor said yesterday that she supports hospitals postponing elective surgeries in the face of rising Covid-19 admission and over 5,000 staff out sick with the virus.

Hospital numbers hit 1,425 yesterday, but ICU numbers dropped slightly to 53. However, among those are five children in ICU, the highest number during the pandemic.

Ms O’Connor said hospitals are struggling.

“It is clear to us that our hospitals cannot continue to do a lot of planned elective work, and we are seeing cancellations already, and we’ll be writing to hospitals to say that we support them in doing that for another couple of weeks,” she told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland yesterday.

Irish Patients’ Association co-founder Stephen McMahon said up to 1,000 patients a day could miss out.

“It is just devastating for public patients,” he said. 

It is public patients bearing the brunt of our healthcare apartheid. Private patients are not having their operations cancelled this week. 

“They should be publishing the list of cancellations on a daily basis so people know what is happening to others in a similar situation. If they can do this for the daily Covid numbers in hospitals, then why not?” 

Mr McMahon will raise his concerns at the emergency department task force meeting on Monday, and says overcrowding is also leading to cancellations.

Sarah Lennon of Sage Advocacy warned that older people are the most likely to suffer. She said: 

There are calls coming in from people who have been waiting for a long time for surgery and treatments, and they are now being told it’s deferred.

“People are waiting a long time for elective surgery which can often be life-changing.” 

Covid outbreaks can also mean wards are locked down in hospitals which causes other problems, especially for people with dementia who are confused when visiting is not always possible, she said.

Patient care is also hit by a staffing crisis, with 5,200 HSE and almost 1,000 nursing home staff absent for Covid-reasons. GPs are also affected.

“Staffing is the issue. Challenging is an understatement and, with people out as a result of Covid, it exacerbates a difficult situation,” said Nursing Homes Ireland chief executive Tadhg Daly.

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Calls for elective surgery hospital in Limerick region

Meanwhile, two professors at University Hospital Limerick have called for the setting up of an elective surgery hospital in the region.

Professor Calvin Coffey told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that it “beggars belief” that such a hospital for the region had not been included in the Sláintecare plan.

“Today’s cancellations will become tomorrow’s emergencies” he warned of scheduled procedures which had to be cancelled this week because of reduced bed capacity.

“We need to protect our ability to provide elective surgeries. It is very upsetting for everyone – patients and staff. 

Everyone is demoralised and depleted. We need immediate measures to provide surgery.

Prof Claffey implored the Government and the area’s elected representatives to act. He paid tribute to the management and administrators of the hospital who had “protected” cancer care during the pandemic.

Professor Brian Lenehan, the chief clinical director at UHL supported the call for an elective surgery hospital for the region. 

He pointed out that there had been a significant increase in patients attending the emergency department in UHL. In 2019 the weekly average was 190, this year it was 250 and last week they treated 290 patients.

Such demand is having a significant impact on bed capacity which was already under pressure because of Covid, he said. That is “to the detriment” of patients awaiting planned procedures.

There should not be a situation where patients awaiting scheduled procedures were competing for bed space with emergency department admissions, added Prof Lenehan.

The Department of Health confirmed 23,125 Covid cases yesterday, including 8,910 through PCR tests and 14,215 positive antigen results.

Speaking in Brussels, Taoiseach Micheál Martin ruled out a return to mandatory mask-wearing, but appealed to people to wear masks in crowded places and to get boosted to avoid serious illness.

Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency has approved injections that prevent Covid-19 infections and could benefit immunocompromised people who are not fully protected by vaccines.

AstraZeneca’s Evusheld reduced the risk of infection by 77%, with protection estimated to last six months, said the agency.