Letterkenny University Hospital cancellation numbers described as ‘shameful’

Sinn Féin TDs for Donegal, Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, have expressed concern at a spike in hospital cancellations of planned activity at Letterkenny University Hospital.

There were 880 cancellations at LUH in January 2025 and figures released to Sinn Féin show that the total number of cancellations in 2024 has increased significantly from the previous year’s numbers.

There were almost 2,000 more cancellations of planned activity at LUH in 2024 than there were the year before and there were almost 6,000 more cancellations last year than there were in 2022.  There were also 880 cancellations at LUH in the first month of 2025 alone.

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“These are incredible numbers,” Teachta Doherty said: “It is shameful that so many vital appointments and procedures are cancelled at LUH every year. When hospitals are under pressure they rely on cancellations, which cause further delays to patients who have already been waiting months for their appointment, scan, or procedure.

“Hospital cancellations are a symptom of everything else that is going wrong in the health service.

“Cancellations are driven by overcrowding, a lack of beds and clinic space, delayed access to diagnostic tests, and understaffing."

Deputy Mac Lochlainn added: “The last thing that a person needs is to learn that their hospital appointment has been cancelled.

“In cases where patients are eagerly waiting on results or a procedure, it adds anxiety and uncertainty that should have been avoided. The fact that numbers have increased to such a level at LUH suggests that this is a hospital that needs emergency care and emergency intervention from government.

“It is clear that the government has no plan to address the crisis in LUH. And this data shows that this is a crisis that is only getting worse.”