Concern after breast surgery deferred over beds shortage

Up to 12 women referred by the BreastCheck screening programme for cancer surgery at the Mater hospital in Dublin have had their operations deferred because of a shortage of beds.

The Irish Timesunderstands that BreastCheck, the State-run national screening programme, has written to the Mater hospital expressing strong concern at the development.

Informed sources said that the women concerned were considered to require breast surgery following screening and assessment by BreastCheck personnel. However their operations, which were due to take place over the last week or so, were deferred.

The Mater hospital said yesterday that the women's surgery had been deferred because of "capacity problems". It said that "arrangements were being made to have the surgery provided in the near term". It is expected that the operations will now be carried out in the Mater Private Hospital.

It is understood that BreastCheck has sought guarantees about the provision of beds in the Mater hospital in the future.

A spokeswoman for BreastCheck said last night that it had reached agreement with the Mater hospital that if public beds were not available that the women referred by it for surgery would be treated in the private sector.

BreastCheck personnel are to meet with the Mater authorities again today regarding the protection of beds for women referred from its service in the longer term.

The spokeswoman for BreastCheck said that the service took the issue very seriously. She said that under its charter BreastCheck sought to assure women found to require surgery following assessment that they would have access to a hospital bed within three weeks. She said that BreastCheck had met this target in 94 per cent of cases last year.

Last year fewer than 4 per cent of women who underwent BreastCheck screening were found to require surgery.

A spokesman for the Mater hospital confirmed yesterday that several women referred by BreastCheck had had their surgery deferred and that the capacity problems were due to increased numbers of patients being admitted to the Mater at this time of the year. He said that there had also been a slowing down of the number of people discharged.

Hospital consultants have expressed concern in recent weeks at the cancellation of increased numbers of elective or non-urgent admissions to hospitals around the country.