Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I accept that significant advancements have been made in the quality of care provided at University Hospital Galway since 2006. However, the Minister of State will accept that the crisis facing the hospital is one of capacity, not quality. There can be little criticism of the standard of care provided for patients in Galway once they are admitted. We are extremely fortunate to have an outstanding team of clinicians and nurses at the hospital who are doing an exceptional job in exceptionally difficult circumstances. The greatest challenge facing us, on which the Government will be judged, is one of access to treatment and having sufficient capacity in hospital to meet increasing demand. The figures for bed capacity and capital spending show that we are not meeting that challenge. The University Hospital Galway campus has reached developmental saturation point. The terms of the Galway city development plan and spatial constraints on the site mean no more beds can be delivered. Any further capital spending on the site would be a waste. Up to €18 million was spent on a 75-bed ward block due to open next year. However, two wards will close as part of the development, meaning that it will not provide a single extra bed. The problem is that University Hospital Galway has the longest waiting lists in the State and, typically, the highest number of patients on trolleys, but we cannot increase capacity on its current campus. Will the Minister of State, therefore, agree that the solution to the crisis lies away from the existing site? Will she agree that future capital investment should be so focused, rather than spending millions of euro on new infrastructure which will offer no additional beds and no hope to the tens of thousands on hospital waiting lists?

See this speech in context