Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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349. To ask the Minister for Health the number of operating theatres for orthopaedic surgery available in Galway university hospital; if these theatres are on the Merlin Park campus; if not, the reason the theatres that were on this campus are not available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42731/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Saolta University Healthcare Group advise that Galway University Hospitals currently have four orthopaedic surgical theatres. Two of these theatres are located on the University Hospital Galway campus and provide trauma surgical services. The remaining two theatres are located on the Merlin Park campus and provide elective orthopaedic surgical services.

My Department was advised by Saolta that a leak developed in the roof of a building in the Merlin Park hospital campus that houses the Hospital's two orthopaedic theatres on the 4 September. At this time hospital management temporarily suspended operations for a week to facilitate the Galway University Hospital Buildings and Maintenance Unit to effect repairs.

A second leak was noted on the 13 of September and Saolta advise that a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of members of the hospital's management and infection control teams and the HSE's West Estates division, took the immediate decision, in the interest of patient safety, to suspend operations in the two theatres to allow a full assessment of the infrastrucutural damage and the development of a plan to effect a complete repair of the damage.

As a result, elective orthopaedic surgeries are now being deferred at Merlin Park and affected patients are being contacted by the Hospital. It should be noted however that no emergency patients have been affected.