Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. I want to outline the following facts to the House: in the two years since leaks were discovered in the roof of the operating theatre in Merlin Park Hospital, the number of people waiting for orthopaedic treatment in Galway has increased by 42% while the numbers in hospitals in the rest of the country have reduced; the number of people waiting for major orthopaedic operations in Galway has almost doubled; it is up by 86%; and last month, more than 500 posts remained unfilled in hospitals in the Saolta group stretching from Donegal to Galway, waiting for sanction by HSE headquarters through which all approvals must go. This is contributing to the increase in waiting lists in hospitals in the group which has grown by 11% or more than 10,000 people in the past year.

As the Taoiseach correctly said, there are 11 minor injuries units in Ireland, but there is none in Galway, even though three quarters of the 66,000 patients presenting each year at the emergency department in University Hospital Galway are discharged without the need for hospital admission and would be ideal candidates for such a fast-track treatment unit.

These facts speak for themselves. I ask the Taoiseach to put pressure on the Department of Health and the HSE to ensure that the new emergency department and theatres in Merlin Park are built without delay. This is the third time the Taoiseach has said that the minor injuries unit is a good idea, but he has done nothing about it. Such a facility is needed in Galway and in Merlin Park. Why is Galway the only county without such a facility? I ask the Taoiseach to personally take this on with the Minister for Health to ensure that Galway also gets one.

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