Connacht Tribune
Galway City’s public hospitals have €10m deficit
Galway City’s two public hospitals are running a deficit of over €10 million this year – with no improvement in finances likely as the group battles with roof leaks and forges ahead with plans to open a new ward to ease overcrowding in the Emergency Department.
In answer to a question tabled by Fine Gael TD Padraig Conneely at a Regional Health Forum West meeting, Chief Operating Officer at the Saolta Hospital Group Ann Cosgrove said the budget for University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park Hospital until the end of July was €303m.
The forecast deficit by the end of the year was €13m, of which €2.5m would come from pay increases agreed nationally that had to come from central coffers.
She stated the €10.5m deficit related to clinical expenditure in the area of direct patient care for drugs, medical and surgical supplies, x-rays and laboratory tests.
The group had been given €100,000 to pay for the design of a new emergency department, which would come with a predicted cost of €120m. That design team would be in place by the end of October, and they were likely to take up to eight months to complete the plan.
A total of 28 beds new beds were opened in January, following the commissioning of the 75-bed block. Recruitment had already begun for a further ward with at least 20 beds, with funding expected to be confirmed for this shortly, Ms Cosgrove told the Forum.
The cost of repairing a leaking roof over the surgical units at Merlin Park, which would cause hundreds of operations to be delayed, had yet to be determined. But it was unlikely to be a simple fix as it was a flat roof.
Cllr Conneely said operating above budget was now an inevitability each year for the hospitals.
“If you were a private company, you’d be in liquidation. How come you can’t live within your budget. Does the €13m affect you for 2018? I’ve heard the [Health] Minister saying you won’t get any extra money. I heard this week that pastoral care costs €5m in the hospitals and half a million was spent in the west – that’s new to me.”
Ms Cosgrove said the Galway hospitals were in a comparable situation to other large facilities in the country when it came to budget challenges. The overrun was 3.4% of the overall budget.
“It may have an impact on our budget next year but we don’t get enough for our budget. We are trying to curb costs where we can without impacting on patient care.”
She explained that the hospitals used two ordained and one lay chaplain for the emotional support of patients and they received a set salary according to national guidelines.
She pointed out that €5m in no way reflected that pay.
“It’s not bad money if you can get it,” sniffed Cllr Conneely.
Chairperson Mary Hoade reminded him that he would have to fit the criteria. And Ms Cosgrove warned him that she might be on the interview panel.
“I wouldn’t mind facing you on an interview board, Ms Cosgrove. I might get a late vocation.”
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.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
