Postponed hospital operations
Howlin clarified that operations were postponed, not cancelled; the Taoiseach said postponements affect fewer than 2% of patients and can result from clinical priorities, infection control or staffing constraints.
In some cases it was not appropriate to operate because patients were not well enough. My point is that this does not automatically mean there was a delay. It is a regular occurrence.
Comment on this
If the Deputy knew anything about hospitals, he would understand. The figure refers to less than 2% of the total of 527,000 patients treated in acute hospitals in the first six months of the year. Operations can be postponed due to emergency cases being prioritised over elective cases, for reasons of infection control or availability of medical and nursing support and, in some cases, when accident and emergency units are full. That is one of the reasons but it is not the only one.