Connacht Tribune
Ombudsman report shows rise in Galway grievances
A total of 303 complaints were made from people living in Galway according to the Ombudsman’s annual report for 2017 – an increase of 19% in a year.
Some 48 of the 852 complaints about local authorities nationally were against Galway City Council – the fifth highest in the country. Complaints against Galway County Council were not far behind at 46.
During 2017, Ombudsman staff visited the Galway Citizen’s Information Centre where 64 complaints were received.
Of the 1,542 cases that were investigated thoroughly by the Ombudsman’s office, 27% were fully upheld, 3% were partially upheld, assistance was provided in 14% of cases, and 56% were not upheld.
Overall, in 44% of cases, members of the public directly benefited from contacting the office.
There are just two Galway cases mentioned among the case studies highlighted in the annual report.
One of them involves University Hospital Galway and their failure to accept a transfer of a patient from Letterkenny University Hospital for a urology review for 13 days – he died before being moved.
“The urology team in the regional centre accepted the man for transfer but his name was not added to the bed management list in the regional centre until 13 days later. The local hospital rang most days to see if a bed was available and wrote in the bed management log book ‘no bed’ or ‘not on list’,” according to the report.
“They were not aware, until the Ombudsman’s examination, that the man’s name had not been put on the list. At one stage the team in the regional centre said the man was not suitable for transfer until more tests were done. The family was not aware of this. It was clear that there was no agreed protocol covering the procedure for the transfer of patients between the two hospitals.”
After his name was finally added to the bed management list, he became too unwell to be transferred and he died.
The family’s complaint was upheld by the Ombudsman. Responding to the findings, the Saolta Hospital Group said it had committed to “finalising a Bi-Directional Patient Flow policy to streamline the process for transferring patients within the hospital group”.
“The importance of clear documentation and communication in arranging transfers was to be included in induction training for hospital doctors.”
The general managers of both hospitals wrote to the family and apologised, noted Ombudsman Peter Tyndall.
The other case centred on a complaint about flooding. A man lived beside HSE lands that flooded during periods of heavy rain resulting in an overflow of water on his property, damaging his percolation area and septic tank, which left his toilets and bathrooms inoperable.
The man said that the flooding was due to a broken concrete drain or culvert that ran under the public road. Both the HSE and Galway County Council informed the man it was the other’s responsibility.
In his investigation, the Ombudsman said the cause of the flooding was the broken drain and was the responsibility of the Council. The Council agreed to replace the existing drain and carry out remedial works to a nearby land owner’s property to prevent further flooding of the HSE’s lands. The works were part funded by the HSE.
In some case, the upheld complaints led to a windfall for the complainants.
A farmer who made a complaint when the Department sought to recover €27,550 from him in relation to a Rural Environment Protection Scheme payment won his case and got a full refund of the penalty after the Ombudsman found he was not informed about the correct procedures.
A man received €47,000 after his disability allowance was backdated by six years.
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
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