Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

These are statements on health. Even if dozens of beds were available in the hospital, which there never will be, the unit would still be unsuitable. To illustrate my point, the resuscitation unit is located immediately on the right-hand side as one walks through the unit's inner doors. There is a small room beyond that point. It is not a clinical space, but a family waiting room where those who lose a loved one suddenly are brought to view the person's remains after efforts to revive him or her in the room next door have failed. It is also the room where someone whom I know was brought to get an ECG on presenting to the accident and emergency unit, as there was no other space available. It is the same room where that person's loved one was laid out several years previously.

No one is blaming the hospital's staff. They do a wonderful job under considerable pressure. They simply have no other space in which to perform ECGs. Surely our hospitals should have suitable clinical facilities in which to carry out simple ECGs instead of having to use what are effectively mini-mortuaries. This is not caused by a lack of beds in the main hospital, but by the unsuitability of the building.

Since the accident and emergency unit of UCHG was remodelled, major changes have occurred in Galway. In terms of demographics, it is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. The hospital's unit is also the trauma centre for the region's seriously ill patients. In recent years, smaller units in the region have closed due to safety concerns, leading to Galway being the first port of call. All of these patients are funnelled through a unit that is not designed to cope with such numbers.

UCHG is the designated centre of excellence for the western seaboard from Galway to Donegal. However, any cancer patient who becomes ill post treatment must present through the accident and emergency unit in the normal manner. This is not only traumatic for the patients, but places even more pressure on the unit. The Minister is familiar with the situation. The hospital needs investment. It is not designed to cope with the numbers being expected of it. I urge the Minister to prioritise capital spending for a new unit in Galway.