Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic for discussion and the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, for being in the Chamber today to respond to it. The emergency department at Galway University Hospital is the busiest or second busiest in the country. On 17 September last, a number of nurses and health care staff who work in the emergency department at that hospital held a one hour lunchtime protest to highlight their difficulties in caring for patients, in particular elderly people, the extreme pressure on staff and the large number of people on trolleys and so on. Following this, I had engagements with management at Galway University Hospital and with the nurses during which a few issues came to the fore.

The statement issued by the hospital in terms of its acknowledgement of the difficulties being experienced by patients was honest. It also stated that despite the ongoing efforts of staff and management, not all emergency department patients are afforded privacy and dignity. The statement that not all patients in one of our busiest emergency departments are afforded privacy and dignity is powerful. Mr. Bill Meagher, then group CEO, said he would not want that service for himself or any of his loved ones and he did not want it for any of his patients or staff. That hospital management was able to acknowledge this was good and constructive. It allows us to move on and try to solve the issues. The management and staff agreed that staffing levels needed to be increased. As far as I am aware, that is now happening, which is very positive. However, there are still issues with the physical infrastructure that is the emergency department at Galway University Hospital. Bed management is also an issue. I welcome that construction of a new 70-bed ward will commence next year.

In response to a parliamentary question to the HSE about the emergency department at Galway University Hospital, I received the forthright and stark response that the original emergency department was constructed in the 1950s and the interim development of the late 1990s is still in place. I was also informed that annual emergency department attendance had increased from 57,000 in 2006 to 65,000 in 2014 and that the existing emergency department does not allow effective patient streaming, is not compliant with infection prevention and control standards and does not enable compliance with the emergency medicine programme or targets for unscheduled care patients experience. It is very honest of the hospital to put that on the record. In effect what the hospital is saying is that regardless of what is done in terms of the special delivery unit, increased bed management and re-routing services out of the emergency department, the physical infrastructure is not fit for purpose. I understand an application has been made to the capital steering group for two possible outcomes: a two-floor emergency department or a six-floor emergency department. I would appreciate if the Minister could tell the House when a decision in that regard will be made. The existing emergency department does not meet the basic requirements of an emergency department. Can provision of a new emergency department at Galway University Hospital, which meets the standards for patients, staff and the wider community in Galway and the west be a priority for the capital programme?

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