Our Lady's Hospital in Navan is to close an orthopaedic unit for December in a bid to save money, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed.
The HSE has imposed a round of cutbacks in an attempt to reduce its €230 million deficit.
The HSE said the unit, which does elective surgery for patients requiring knee and hip operations, is already ahead of targets and that only a small number of operations would have to be rescheduled.
Fine Gael's Meath West TD Damien English claimed 200 patients would have their surgery cancelled.
The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) said the HSE claim that just six patients would suffer postponements was not true.
"The unit was closed last year for refurbishment, but the average throughput for that unit in a three-week period is about 150 patients. Whilst six patients have been booked for procedures in December so far, consultants would, in normal circumstances, be booking patients over the next number of weeks," the IHCA said.
The IHCA added: "It is scant consolation to patients whose quality of life is seriously impaired that this unit is ahead of target in the number of procedures it will perform in 2007."