Connacht Tribune

All 196 consultants at UHG condemn “unsafe” hospital

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Every single one of the 196 consultants working at University Hospital Galway has come out and slammed the facility as “unsafe” and “unfit for purpose”.

In a damning letter to the Minister for Health, all 196 hospital consultants warn UHG was inadequate in terms of its capacity and structure.

They caution that the planned new Emergency Department that has got the go-ahead in principal will not solve the capacity deficits or infrastructural ills of the city hospital.

And the doctors urge Minister Simon Harris to press ahead with planning for a new hospital at a greenfield site.

“Galway, and Saolta University Healthcare Group, urgently need a new acute hospital to safely manage the healthcare needs of the region,” the consultants’ letter to the Minister says.

The letter carries the weight of senior hospital management, as it was written and signed by Dr Pat Nash, chief clinical director of the Saolta University Healthcare Group.

It has also lent considerable support to the ongoing campaign of Fine Gael TD Hildegarde Naughton, who has been leading calls for a new hospital at Merlin Park.

The letter is extremely critical of the existing facilities at UHG, warning that they are unsafe, unfit for purpose, and inadequate in terms of capacity and structure.

“We urgently request that you consider our proposal as the current ageing facilities are not fit for purpose either in capacity or structure to meet the current and future care requirements for the population,” the letter states.

It describes existing infrastructure as “neither adequate nor safe” for the delivery of high-quality healthcare, while the “unplanned evolution” of the Saolta group had worsened capacity deficits at UHG.

UHG’s Emergency Department has consistently been ranked among the worst in the country for overcrowding, and patients left on trolleys.

The correspondence also mentions proposals for the construction of a new emergency department at the hospital, claiming that it “will not address the serious infrastructural and capacity deficits across the UHG campus”.

Welcoming the support of the 196 clinicians, Deputy Naughton said that the letter constituted a stark warning about the condition and capacity of the hospital, as well as the pressing need for a new facility in Galway.

“The deficiencies in terms of capacity and infrastructure at UHG are well known and are reflected in the many statistics and stories we hear in relation to issues with access to healthcare,” said the Galway West TD.

“That is not going to improve and cannot be remedied at the hospital’s current site. The UHG campus is at saturation point in terms of development, and its capacity cannot be increased without moving elsewhere.

“The support of every single consultant doctor at GUH is most welcome and extremely important. These are the people who know the system best, and any plans for the future of our regional health service should be clinician-led,” she added.

In a response to the letter, Minister Harris said that he had asked Saolta to develop a new plan for the future of its hospitals and “for necessary future expansion”.

He noted that an options appraisal for the development of hospital facilities in Galway was currently underway, and that he looked forward to receiving this.

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