Melee wreaks havoc in A&E

NURSES, security men, general staff and Gardai had to join forces to help quell a Travellers’ melee which erupted in the A&E Unit of University Hospital Galway (UHG) on Tuesday afternoon.At one point there were fears for the safety of patients and staff in the A&E department following the admission of a Traveller to the hospital after he was injured in a road accident earlier that day on the Headford Road.What should have been a routine admission to the hospital’s A&E section, spiralled out of control when a large group of Travellers followed the patient into the hospital at about 1.30pm on Tuesday.According to onlookers, some type of dispute seems to have started within the group of visiting Travellers – estimated at between 35 and 40 – which initially led to shouting and rough language among the group.However the situation worsened shortly after, when a melee developed among the Travellers which at one point...