A DECISION TO cancel scheduled care across five hospitals and injury units for an indefinite period has been criticised as “an abandonment of the people of the Mid-West”.

A consultants group said the HSE’s decision to cancel elective surgeries, endoscopies and outpatient appointments was “unbelievable” and “one of the starkest developments in Irish healthcare in recent times”.

The University of Limerick Hospitals Group said the action was taken to manage high volumes of patients attending the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

Appointments and operations have been cancelled at UHL, Ennis, Nenagh, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in order to “de-escalate the UHL site” and “reduce wait times”, it said.

The emergency department and services at University Maternity Hospital Limerick are continuing as normal.

“We regret the impact this decision will have on patients waiting for surgery, appointments and investigations; and all affected patients are being contacted directly by hospital staff. These appointments will be rescheduled as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) argued it will have severe knock-on consequences for patient health outcomes and expressed concern about the busier winter months.

The IHCA also said it “effectively amounts to a dereliction of hospitals across the Mid-West and those who depend upon them”.

Vice president of the IHCA Colin Peirce said it “illustrates a complete lack of creativity and collaboration on the part of HSE leadership”.

“We have all known for years that Limerick has problems.

“We also know that fixing them requires a blend of immediate and medium-term decisions.

“It is clearly a challenge, but instead of meeting it creatively, HSE leadership is essentially giving up.

“It’s unbelievable, unnecessary, and an abandonment of the local population.

“No hospital consultant wants to tell a patient waiting for essential surgery that their critical treatment has been cancelled and, worse still, that they do not know when it will be rescheduled.

“Alongside hampering diagnosis, treatment and delivery of care, this will have a severe impact on already excessive waiting lists.

“The number of people on waiting lists is expected to reach further unacceptable levels when the NTPF data is published tomorrow.

“We cannot allow scheduled care to be seen as an ‘optional extra’ in the delivery of healthcare.

“Responding to a lack of resourcing and capacity by simply cancelling life-enhancing surgery is completely unacceptable and poorly thought-out.

“These cancellations will have a direct negative impact on patients’ health.

“Those who have their essential surgery cancelled have poorer physical health, increased functional impairments, and worse psychological functioning than those who do not experience such postponements.

“Therefore, this decision cannot be presented as a solution for the people of the Mid-West, as it creates more problems than it solves.

“We urge the HSE to reinstate these procedures, and to come to the table with long-term and sustainable solutions that the people of the Mid-West deserve.”

There has been a focus on conditions at UHL since the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at the hospital in 2022, who waited 12 hours to be assessed for suspected sepsis.

An initial report found that overcrowding in the hospital’s emergency department was “endemic” and doctor and nurse staffing levels are “insufficient”.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that although reforms were not fully in place yet, those implemented to date had begun to bring the number of patients waiting on trolleys down.

Sandra Broderick, regional executive officer of HSE Mid West, said: “Additional measures agreed (on Wednesday) to de-escalate our main hospital site at UHL are being taken in the interests of patient care across the region and to prioritise those who are the most acutely unwell.
  
“We understand that this is very difficult for patients who have in some cases already faced long waits for their appointments. Our staff will be working over the coming days and weeks to ensure affected patients are rescheduled as soon as possible.”