Opposition parties sharply criticised the Government yesterday for putting patients' lives at risk after it emerged close to 22,000 operations were cancelled by 34 hospitals across the State last year.
The data obtained by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act and published in yesterday's paper, also showed thousands of operations were cancelled or deferred because hospitals did not have vacant beds.
Fine Gael's health spokesman, Dr Liam Twomey, said he was aware of one hospital "where investigations for cancer and bleeding ulcers have been cancelled every second week for the last 12 months". This was Wexford General Hospital, he said, which admitted it had to cancel 815 operations last year.
The cancellation of operations was a serious matter, said Dr Twomey. "It is important to understand how serious this is. Clearly these delays, in some cases, prevent early diagnosis - which is the single best chance of successful treatment for many conditions. In that sense, constantly cancelling operations is life-threatening for the patients involved and it is certain that some will die while they are waiting," he claimed.
He said Minister for Health Mary Harney had to face up to the bed shortage in the system.
"The figures released today on cancelled operations are a shocking symbol of the bed shortage brought about by the failed policies of this Government," he said.
"Instead of adding beds or frontline staff, day case beds are being occupied by patients from A&E. The real fear is that when the A&E pressures begin to escalate this winter, even more of the beds required for operations will be used to effect a cosmetic reduction in the numbers on trolleys."
Labour's health spokeswoman, Liz McManus, called on Ms Harney to take immediate steps.
"These figures demonstrate once again that inadequate bed capacity is a crucial factor in many of the problems in our health service and that, unless capacity is increased, these problems will continue.
"The human reality behind the cold statistics of 22,000 cancellations is that thousands of patients have been forced to endure additional, unnecessary pain and suffering. The Government's health strategy published in 2001 included a commitment to provide 3,000 additional beds. Less than one-third of that number has been provided," she added.
Meanwhile, the Green Party's health spokesman, John Gormley, said lack of bed capacity was contributing significantly to problems in A&E: "News of the 22,000 cancelled operations comes on the same day as reports that HSE executives awarded themselves generous bonuses of nearly €1.7 million over the last 18 months."
Sinn Féin's health spokesman, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, said the figures for cancelled operations were a severe indictment of Fianna Fáil/PD health policy and of management: "The cancellations are a direct result of the hospital bed shortage which Minister Harney and her predecessors have presided over."
Apart from bed shortages, other reasons blamed by hospitals for cancellations last year included patients not turning up or being medically unfit for surgery, lack of theatre time and consultants being away or ill.
The HSE reiterated the operations cancelled represented just 3.4 per cent of the total number of operations carried out last year. It also argued that the operations were "not cancelled but postponed" and said that in most cases they would have been put off "for only a matter of days". It said it recognised this could inconvenience patients.