Beaumont Hospital operations cancelled due to staff shortages

Dozens of patients at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin have had vital operations cancelled due to a shortage of anaesthetic staff. Two of the hospital's 10 operating theatres are closed at any one time because of staffing difficulties, consultants have told The Irish Times. This represents a doubling of the level of closures since last year, when one theatre remained closed.

Fourteen patient lists are being cancelled over each eight-week period, according to one consultant, who said those affected included people with brain tumours and serious spinal problems. The number whose operations are being cancelled or postponed in each period ranges between 30 and 40, depending on the complexity of the cases.

‘Patients are seething’

“My patients are seething, and who can blame them,” said one member of staff. “How would you feel to be told your essential surgery was being put back nine months?”

“It’s embarrassing for me as a doctor to see two theatres full of expensive equipment closed on any day of the week. For the patients, it’s appalling,” commented another doctor.

As the national centre for neurosurgery, the hospital treats patients from all over the State. The theatre closures are likely to lead to longer waiting lists, which already stand at more than 600 in neurosurgery. Staff have raised the problem with hospital management and at HSE leadership level, but with no results so far.

Asked about the closures, the hospital declined to say how many theatres are shut, or to say whether the situation had worsened recently. “Periodically a small number of theatre sessions are closed due to shortages of anaesthetic staff,” a spokesman said. “This is a short-term problem and will lead to minimal disruption of services.”