Day surgery cancellations spiral at Nenagh Hospital

Theatre nurses at Nenagh General Hospital have expressed serious concerns to Deputy Michael Lowry over the ongoing disruption and cancellation of day surgeries in the hospital.

Deputy Lowry said members of the theatre nursing staff at the hospital have informed him that an estimated 432 patients have had their day surgery procedures at the UL Group Hospital cancelled as a result of the overall medical surge in the UL Hospital Group in the first three months of this year.

This compares to a total of 116 cancelled procedures in Nenagh throughout all of 2022, he revealed.

“Staff members in Nenagh have stated that it appears as though cancelling day surgery cases at Nenagh Hospital is the UL Group’s answer to solving the ongoing medical surge problems in the group,” he added.

“Patients requiring hospitalisation in the region are being accommodated in day wards in the UL Hospital Group, which includes Nenagh Hospital, Ennis Hospital and St John’s Hospital in Limerick as University Hospital Limerick is unable to accommodate them. Filling up the day wards in the smaller hospital means that day surgery must be cancelled,” said Deputy Lowry.

Meanwhile, a UL Hospitals Group spokesman says the cancellations followed the postponing of all elective procedures during the early part of the year. “This year’s surge in demand for beds exceeded capacity to the extent that, as per our escalation plan, additional reductions in scheduled care were necessary, delaying the resumption of day surgery in Ennis Hospital and Nenagh Hospital, where beds on the day ward were used as surge capacity for medical inpatients.”

Theatre staff members in Nenagh Hospital have told Deputy Lowry that the continual cancellation of procedures results in them being assigned to work in other areas of the hospital. “They have stated that Nenagh will lose its highly qualified theatre staff due to the uncertainty of their positions in the hospital, as they will be forced to seek employment elsewhere.”

LOW MORALE

Deputy Lowry added: “Morale is very low amongst theatre nursing staff in Nenagh Hospital at present. They feel that they are the only nursing group within the hospital that suffers continual disruption to their work and, while they are willing to assist in other areas if required, they feel that this obligation is becoming the norm as day surgery cancellations increase.

“The theatre nurses are also very mindful of the patients whose surgeries are cancelled. They say that many eye surgery patients are availing of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, and some have been languishing on eye surgery waiting lists for three to five years for this day surgery procedure,” added Deputy Lowry.

“Many of these patients are elderly and have very little sight left as they are waiting to have cataracts removed from both eyes. They are all prepared for the day surgery procedure to take place and they have had their pre-op assessment carried out. Then they receive a phone call the evening before they are due to have surgery telling them that it has been cancelled.”

Deputy Lowry said that last week alone, 10 patients have received a last-minute cancellation call. “It is soul-destroying for them, and the underlying fear amongst theatre nursing staff in Nenagh Hospital is that cataract eye surgery will be discontinued. This would be a tragedy and one that must be avoided.

“I will be raising this issue as a matter of urgency with the minister and the Department of Health in the coming days,” said Deputy Lowry.