Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Táim buíoch an deis a fháil an cheist seo a chuir. Tá ospidéal nua thar a bheith tábhachtach do Ghaillimh. Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil don Aire Sláinte nua, an Teachta Simon Harris. Guím gach rath air ina ról nua.

A new hospital for Galway is something the people of Galway and the region have sought for some time. Since my election to the regional health forum in 2006, I and the other 39 councillors, on a cross-party basis, have recognised the inadequacy of the hospital site in Galway and the acute crisis that exists because of the congested site. The hospital we know as the regional hospital Galway provides a leadership role in acute service delivery, providing regional services for a wide range of specialties and is also designated as a supra-regional centre for cancer and cardiac services serving a catchment area in the region of 1 million people from Donegal to Tipperary north. That is the catchment area the hospital is serving, yet waiting lists in the hospital for every single medical specialty on both inpatient and outpatient waiting lists have repeatedly made local and national headlines, primarily because of lack of capacity on the site, in addition to lack of resources. The waiting lists are damning for ENT procedures and operations, orthopaedic operations, urology, anaesthesia, pain management, rheumatology and dermatology. The list goes on. In addition, we have the repeated cancellation of elective surgeries and procedures due to the input of patients through the accident and emergency department, which is causing great distress and pain to the patients.

Moreover, there is a trolley crisis despite the best efforts of staff, nurses and management. There is research to the effect that over a particular age, a person who spends more than two days on a trolley will spend a longer time in hospital, thereby incurring a greater cost to the Exchequer, not to mention the psychological and physical hurt to the patient. I accept that projects are planned and under way, including the construction of a 75-bed ward, a 50-bed replacement ward, a 50-bed mental health unit and a planned emergency department unit. However, the important point is that, notwithstanding these planned projects, both the clinical director of the hospital and the management of the Saolta group have acknowledged recently that all of these developments on the congested site are simply fire-fighting exercises and that there is an urgent requirement to have a new hospital and to begin planning for such a new hospital as quickly as possible. Furthermore, it has been highlighted that even when all these developments are in place, there will be additional capacity of only 25 beds on that congested site.

It is recognised by everybody in Galway and the region that the University Hospital Galway, UHG, site is congested and cannot cope with the existing demand. Its parking facilities are inadequate and cars must wait for hours to get in. As I noted when raising this matter, the lack of capacity in the hospital was the most worrying aspect when the risk assessment was drawn up to produce the risk register. I refer to this risk and the open, frank and welcome acknowledgement by the management and clinical director that they cannot go on like this. They are doing their best but they need a new hospital. In view of such candour and honesty, I ask the Minister to address whether he has met the management and the clinical director. If not, when will that happen and what steps are being taken to establish plans for a new hospital?

I will conclude by noting there are 150 acres of land on the Merlin Park site. I support fully the residents there who do not wish to see the woods demolished, and they should be preserved. However, on the footprint alone, without touching a tree, a new hospital could be built. There is also another site in Galway if the Merlin Park site does not prove to be suitable - namely, the airport site. I do not mind where the site is located, as what people in Galway want is a new hospital.

See this speech in context