The cancellation of large numbers of patient appointments for elective surgery at Galway's University College Hospital in recent weeks has led to threatened industrial action by hospital consultants.
Mr Hugh Bredin, a consultant urologist at the hospital, said consultants were frustrated at having to defer planned surgery on their patients over a prolonged period.
He said the cancellations began on December 16th and continued through most of January. The reasons included what he described as a longer than usual Christmas holiday season, large numbers of emergency admissions through accident and emergency, and the winter vomiting virus.
However, he said, consultants were particularly aggrieved that the hospital had ordered the cancellation of elective surgery in mid-December while at the same time using theatres to operate on patients whose treatment was funded through the National Treatment Purchase scheme. This fund buys private treatment for patients waiting more than 12 months for treatment on public waiting lists.
"It defies logic to have Treatment Purchase Fund work ongoing for often very non-urgent conditions and at the same time having surgeons standing idle to some extent and not able to admit elective patients," he said.
Representatives of the Irish Medical Organisation will meet the Western Health Board's chief executive, Dr Sheelah Ryan, tomorrow to discuss this and other issues including the health board's service plan for this year.
Following the meeting, a decision will be taken on whether to pursue industrial action.
A spokeswoman for the Western Health Board said the hospital had been extremely busy since mid-December. There had been a large number of emergency admissions and this had resulted in elective surgery having to be cancelled.