Forty-four patients were waiting on trolleys in UHG’s Emergency Department on Wednesday

University Hospital Galway was one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the country on Wednesday with some 44 patients waiting on trolleys on in its Emergency Department on Wednesday morning, according to Trolley Watch figures from nursing union, the INMO.

These figures come as local TD Noel Grealish lashed the Government for failing to address what he called ‘a crisis in health services in Galway’ – describing UHG as ‘consistently one of the worst hospitals in the country’ for the numbers of patients on trolleys.

Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Grealish (Ind) said the situation had deteriorated to such a state that people were now reluctant to engage the services of the region’s biggest hospital.

“It has got so bad that older people, in particular, are genuinely afraid to go to hospital, knowing the indignities that await them in what is supposed to be the West’s flagship facility.

“Over the past three weeks alone, almost 600 sick or injured, worried and vulnerable people have been left lying on trolleys overnight at UHG, and that does not include weekends,” said Deputy Grealish.

He said in the first six months of this year, almost 2,400 people spent more than 24 hours in the emergency department at the hospital, more than 850 of them over the age of 75 – a statistic which he described as ‘shameful’.

A possible resolution lay in moving some of the services currently offered in UHG to Merlin Park, he added.

“I have put forward solutions in the House in the past, to both the Taoiseach and his predecessor, Deputy Enda Kenny. One solution is to locate a minor injuries unit at Merlin Park hospital on the eastern side of the city.

“It could take up to 60% of the people currently attending the severely overcrowded emergency department at UHG and deal with them in a fraction of the time it takes now. Not only would that greatly benefit more seriously ill patients, who would be seen sooner, but it would make the department a joy to work in for those staff who are under such stress at present,” said Deputy Grealish.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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.