40,000 hospital appointments cancelled in local hospitals

Local hospitals have cancelled almost 40,000 patient appointments in the last four years.

The data was analysed by the Irish Medical Times ahead of Patient Solutions, a new conference dedicated to patient care.

It is not clear why appointments are cancelled, but, generally, care deferrals are due to sick leave and staff shortages.

Just over 13,000 were cancelled by Mullingar Hospital from 2020 to 2025.

Over 11,000 were pushed back by Sligo, 9,200 in Roscommon and in Portiuncula, there were 5,200.