Pensioner left to die on trolley in Emergency Department at UHG

An investigation has been launched into the case of a woman in her late 80s who was left to die on a trolley while waiting to be seen at the Emergency Department in University Hospital Galway.

The Saolta Hospital Group confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that the case is being “reviewed externally”.

The woman is understood to have been brought from a nursing home by ambulance on Wednesday of last week and was left on a trolley in the public waiting area of the ED.

The unit was on ‘Code Black’ of its Full Capacity Protocol at the time – the highest alert level for overcrowding at the hospital.

She was left waiting on the trolley for several hours and passed away after suffering what are believed to be cardiac-related difficulties. She is understood to have been aged 88.

In response to a series of queries from this newspaper, the Saolta Group issued the following statement: “The circumstances of this case will be reviewed externally in conjunction with the National Ambulance Service.

“The Saolta University Health Care Group and the National Ambulance Service have offered the family concerned our deepest sympathy and will be communicating directly with them in relation to the review process.”

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune