No excuse for suspending Pathfinder across Galway
A Galway West bye-election hopeful has called on the Minister for Health and the CEO of the Health Service Executive, Bernard Gloster, to urgently reverse the decision to suspend the Pathfinder service in Galway for the month of March.
Pathfinder — a frontline team of therapists and advanced paramedics — responds to 999 calls where elderly people have suffered falls.
In over 80% of cases, the team treats patients safely in their own homes, avoiding unnecessary ambulance transfers and prolonged exposure to overcrowded A&E departments at University Hospital Galway.
But Independent Ireland Cllr Noel Thomas said that the team has now been instructed to cease community operations for March and instead work inside the hospital’s Emergency Department – reportedly due to an anticipated surge in attendances.
“Pathfinder is exactly the kind of smart, preventative healthcare service we should be expanding — not shutting it down,” said Cllr Thomas.
“In more than 80% of cases, they treat elderly people safely at home, sparing them the ordeal of long waits in a crowded A&E where they are more vulnerable to infections and viruses.
“We’re told this is because a surge is expected in March. If that is so, the public deserves transparency. Is there a specific outbreak anticipated? Why have families not been informed?” he asked.