Orthopaedic surgeries are set to resume at Merlin Park

Some elective orthopaedic surgery will begin in Merlin Park by the end of March but the full complement of theatres is now scheduled to return by October.
In an update last week on the orthopaedic theatres closed due to leaks last September, Chief Operating Officer of the Saolta Hospital Group, Ann Cosgove, said the roof was repaired last November and an independent clinical assessment took place which found “internal reconfiguration” was needed to bring one of the theatres back to life.
That work should be finished by the end of this month so a limited number of orthopaedic surgeries can resume.
The rest will continue to be transferred to University Hospital Galway (UHG) where so far 160 patients on the waiting list had procedures carried out since the Merlin Park theatres were out of action.
Some 308 patients had injections in an alternative theatre at Merlin.
After initially favouring mobile theatre units, the management then ruled them out due to their limitations and decided on modular builds. Once the contract with a provider is signed this week, a detailed site design will be drawn up and planning permission sought for the two temporary theatres.
Building them will take up to nine months, Ms Cosgrove told the Regional Health Forum West meeting.
“We are aiming to have the modular theatre building open in October this year following the necessary works to prepare the site and construction of the facility.”
There were currently 1,053 patients on the orthopaedic waiting list.
Cllr Terry O’Flaherty (Ind) asked why operations did not recommence once the roof was fixed and wanted to know what the ten orthopaedic surgeons were doing if the theatres were lying idle.
Describing the October opening as overly optimistic, Fine Gael Councillor Padraig Conneely said there may well be objections to the modular buildings if the widescale community opposition to the new hospice was anything to go by.