What would qualify as an emergency when it comes to Galway A&E?
Taoiseach Enda Kenny stands accused of speaking with forked-tongue on the Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway – he says it’s not fit for purpose and yet won’t provide funding to replace it.
As nurses prepare for industrial action next week, Deputy Kenny has been challenged to visit UHG to see for himself the “Third World” conditions at the Emergency Department (ED).
Galway County Councillor Mary Hoade said the ED is ‘buckling under pressure’ and she urged Health Minister Leo Varadkar and Deputy Kenny to give the go-ahead for a new facility.
“Actions speak louder than words. It’s all very well and good to say the Emergency Department is not fit for purpose. We all know that. What the people of Galway want to know is he going to do about it. He says it’s not fit for purpose and yet a new Emergency Department hasn’t been included in the Government’s capital expenditure plan,” said Galway County Councillor Mary Hoade.
Cllr Hoade, who is contesting the general election in Galway West for Fianna Fáil, said there is a chronic shortage of space, beds and staff at the ED.
“The problem is we were made a centre of excellence without being given additional resources to cater for the additional patients. The Government also closed Roscommon A&E and that’s having a knock-on effect. The Emergency Department was originally designed to cater for 100 people but staff are seeing 250 people pass through it every day. It is Third World stuff,” she said.
See full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune.