Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What measures does the Taoiseach propose in order to urgently fix the systemic problem at University Hospital Galway, UHG, to fulfil its mandate to operate as a centre of excellence? That question comes from a man in Mayo who is currently undergoing chemotherapy at University Hospital Galway. He has an aggressive form of lymphoma cancer, he requires urgent and intensive treatment and, devastatingly for him and his family, there has already been a delay of 17 days to his treatment simply because there was no bed for him. He says: "It is ethically and morally wrong that my prospects of survival are currently in the hands of hospital administrators who have to try to decide when I am allocated a bed for my treatment. It is wrong that I am forced to advocate for the repair of a broken system at a time when all my energy should be directed towards recovering."

This is a fact of life for many people living in the west who are really seriously ill, and the Taoiseach’s Government has failed them. It has failed them for the last 13 years. The Taoiseach was in that position himself. This is something as simple as a bed. We have hugely expensive equipment and we have the best expertise in the world, but we do not have a bed. I think the Taoiseach and his Government owe this man an answer, as well as others in the west of Ireland and Mayo who are in a similar position.

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