Galway Bay fm newsroom – University Hospital Galway had the highest number of surgeries cancelled last year.
More than 5 and a half thousand operations were cancelled at the city hospital last year, just ahead of Cork where 4 thousand were postponed.
Across the country more than 26 thousand patients had their surgery cancelled last year, according to figures from the Irish Independent.
The worst affected hospital was UHG, where 5 thousand 549 surgeries were cancelled, followed by Cork University Hospital, where 4 thousand and 60 operations were postponed.
The cancellations often resulted from beds being needed for people admitted to the hospital from the Emergency Department.
There are now 75 thousand patients on waiting lists for procedures across the country.
The Health Service Executive says that every hospital experiences cancellations and that the number should be viewed in the context of overall hospital capacity.