Up to half of all surgical gynaecological procedures at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, are cancelled the night before as beds are taken up by admissions through casualty, according to a gynaecologist at the hospital.
Prof Walter Prendiville told a debate at the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland last week that 70 per cent of patients are admitted to the hospital through casualty.
Surgeons are "banging on the doors of theatres" to be allowed work in them. Scarcity of beds means doing their jobs "now seems to be a privilege," he said.
Elderly people account for 46 per cent of admissions through the casualty department of St James's Hospital, Dublin, geriatrician Dr Bernard Walsh told the meeting. People over 65 make up half the bed days occupied in the hospital.
Some 14 per cent of the population in the St James's catchment area is elderly compared to about 10 per cent nationally, he said.
There are big variations in the time it takes to get the results of smear tests from the country's hospitals, according to information supplied by the Minister for Health and Children to Mr Bernard Allen TD.
Routine tests can take from two to 11 weeks to come through. According to Mr Martin, these are the turnaround times for smear tests sent to the various institutions:
Two weeks: St James's, Dublin.
Two to three weeks: James Connolloy Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown; Beaumont Hospital, Dublin; Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe; Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda.
Four weeks: Rotunda, Dublin (urgent tests dealt with immediately); University College Hospital, Galway (urgent tests within one week).
Five weeks: Cork University Hospital (urgent tests within two to three days).
Six weeks: Coombe Women's Hospital, Dublin (urgent tests dealt with on receipt).
Eight weeks: St Luke's, Dublin (urgent tests dealt with on receipt); National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street (urgent tests dealt with on receipt); Sligo General Hospital (particularly urgent tests within two to three days, urgent tests within one to 10 days).
11 weeks: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (urgent tests dealt with in one week).
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