Connacht Tribune
UHG ambulance times are worst in the country
University Hospital Galway (UHG) has the worst ambulance turnaround times of any hospital in the country, shock statistics confirm.
Ambulances spent over 800 hours delayed at UHG’s Emergency Department in May while waiting to hand over patients for treatment.
Overcrowding at the city hospital resulted in the vast majority of paramedic crews who arrived at UHG having to wait longer than the HSE’s recommended 20 minutes ambulance turnaround time target.
This is the time in which ambulances hand-over patients, get their trolleys back and return to responding to emergency calls.
Of the 1,018 ambulance callouts in May, just 68 – representing 6.7% of the total – were turned around in the 20-minutes target.
The average turnaround time at UHG is over 47 minutes, which is the worst in the country, according to the figures released to Fianna Fáil Galway East TD, Anne Rabbitte.
For comparison, the average turnaround times for Dublin’s big hospitals the Mater and St James was 28 minutes and 27 minutes respectively, while Tallaght had average times of almost 26 minutes.
In almost one in five cases – 109 callouts representing 19% of the total – ambulances were waiting to ‘clear’ at UHG for between one and two hours.
In six instances, the ambulance was waiting up to four hours, while in 17 instances the turnaround time was two to three hours.
Most (802 or 79%) of UHG callouts had turnaround times of between 30 minutes and an hour.
The average time spent by ambulances at Portiuncula Hospital was marginally better than UHG, at over 37 minutes.
However, just 48 of the 379 callouts in May at the Ballinasloe hospital made the HSE’s target times of 20 minutes. Some 154 (40%) were turned around in 20 or 30 minutes; while 337 (89%) were cleared in 30-60 minutes.
Some 42 patients (11%) had to wait between one and two hours to be admitted to Portiuncula. In total, ambulances spent 238 hours delayed at Portiuncula.
Deputy Rabbitte said there needs to be urgent improvement in ambulance turnaround times at UHG to give patients confidence in the system.
“The fact that fewer than 7% of ambulances attending UHG are meeting best practice targets is very worrying. The fact that it ranks as the worst hospital in the country for these delays is a matter of grave concern.
“For every minute that an ambulance is delayed at the hospital, it means it is unavailable for calls across the city and county. These targets are there for a reason – to ensure patient safety – and serious efforts must be made to improve these turnaround times,” she said.
Deputy Rabbitte blamed “chronic overcrowding” at the Emergency Department, which is contributing to delays.
She pointed out that at UHG, in more than 21% – or 216 out of 1,018 – of cases, ambulances were waiting over an hour before patients were handed to Emergency Department staff. “This is simply not sustainable in the long term,” she insisted.
Deputy Rabbitte urged Health Minister Simon Harris to work with the National Ambulance Service and the Saolta Hospital Group to identify why these targets are not being met, “and to put in place implementation and oversight mechanisms to ensure that they are improved into the future”.
Meanwhile, separate figures reveal Galway University Hospital – UHG and Merlin Park – has the biggest inpatient day case and outpatient waiting lists in the country, with over 50,500 patients waiting.
That includes 38,501 patients waiting to be seen at outpatients, plus 12,065 waiting for an inpatient or day case procedure. Nationally, there are a total of 686,997 patients waiting for treatment, with the longest lists for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), orthopaedics and dermatology.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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