Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh léi i dtosach as ucht a ceapachán. Guím gach rath uirthi. I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment and I wish her all the best.

A number of years ago we were told with great fanfare that the west was getting a new hospital group called Saolta that would go a long way towards solving the crisis in our health services in the west. Unfortunately the practice has not proven to be as successful as planned. The latest figures and statistics from the National Treatment Purchase Fund are stark for University Hospital Galway in particular. We have had much talk of leagues and people winning games etc., but unfortunately University Hospital Galway is top of the league again for all the wrong reasons for outpatient and inpatient waiting lists.

According to the latest figures University Hospital Galway is top of the list nationally with 31,417 waiting on its outpatient waiting list. When the figures are parsed more closely we can see that 4,744 on those waiting lists have been waiting for more than 12 months. The particular pressure points seem to be in cardiology, dermatology, general medicine, general surgery, gynaecology, neurology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and ENT. Particularly worrying would be orthopaedics where 4,248 people are waiting on the outpatient list for University Hospital Galway.

Unfortunately the picture gets worse with the inpatient day cases by hospital. Not only is University Hospital Galway "top of the pops" again, but it is actually almost double its closest rival. It has 11,099 people on the waiting list. Its closest rival is Beaumont Hospital with 6,065. Again when the figures are parsed we can see that 2,907 people have been waiting for more than 12 months. So almost one in four people have been waiting for more than a year for the treatment they need.

Representatives of the Saolta hospital management group recently gave a presentation to Oireachtas Members and members of the regional health forum where they finally said publicly that they believe there is a massive issue with the hospital in Galway. We have been saying this for years. They said it was clear that the capacity of the present hospital cannot deal with the numbers passing through it and that is part of the reason for the consistently high numbers of people on waiting lists.

The physical building is not the only problem. There are huge issues with staffing, particularly a lack of nurses. The lack of theatre nurses has been highlighted as an issue as are specialists in various areas. Over the past five years I have heard that this would be addressed and there would be recruitment processes etc. However, the lists are getting ever longer and people are suffering for longer with no apparent solution in train. That is why this is a crucial question for the people of Galway.

As Senator O'Mahony will know part of the reason for the lists being so long is that the Saolta hospital group now covers the hospitals from Donegal down to Galway, including those in Mayo and Roscommon as well. People from all those regions are affected by such long waiting lists in Galway. It is totally unacceptable, and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I look forward to the Minister of State's response to see what plan and strategy the Department has to ensure this is addressed as a matter of urgency.