Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The hospital with the highest number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment is Galway University Hospital with more than 54,000. It also has by far the highest number of inpatient or day cases waiting at 9,500 people. The biggest problem is the backlog of orthopaedic patients and people seeking help for painful hips and knees that need replacing are being told it could take up to three years before they are seen for initial assessment. I am glad to learn that work is to begin within weeks on the long-awaited second operating theatre for orthopaedics to replace the one that closed in 2017 but it will be a long time before it is operational. I urge that special action be taken in the meantime to clear the exceptional backlog in Galway that is causing so much pain and anxiety to so many.

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