Dr. Pat Nash:

There was no strategic planning about Saolta group being established and the impact of it on the alignment of hospitals and on the re-alignment of referral pathways. The groups were announced as part of the hospitals report in 2013 and our group was established in August 2013. From that point on there was an immediate change in referral patterns for tertiary services, particularly from the north west. Traditionally, the west and the north west had different health boards and were quite distinct areas. That had a significant impact on capacity problems in Galway. There are no unopened beds on the Galway site. The hospital is working at full capacity, so lack of staffing is not an issue with regard to creating additional capacity.