Tánaiste Micheál Martin has today officially opened the new Outpatients Building at Merlin Park University Hospital.
At a cost of €15.33 million, this project will see a phased transfer of outpatient services from University Hospital Galway to the Merlin Park campus.
This is a significant development for GUH; relocating outpatient services from the UHG site is an important part of the long-term infrastructure masterplan for the hospital and will enable progress in a number of essential projects (Ward Block, ED, Women and Children’s Block, Cancer Centre and Replacement Laboratory).
The new master plan will see elective, day surgery and ambulatory care move to the MPUH campus while complex acute elective and unscheduled inpatients and day cases, oncology and maternity and paediatric inpatient care remain in UHG.
It will also provide the required bed capacity to address the demand for increased inpatient beds and additional day case requirements.
The new unit is Phase 1 of the OPD plan. Over the coming weeks and months outpatient appointments in specialities like General Medical, Surgery, Neurology and other specialities will take place in Merlin Park.
Patients should check the details on their appointment letter to ensure they attend the correct location for appointments.
Phase 2 of the project is currently at the design stage and will later go to tender and then construction. When fully completed, it will facilitate the relocation of the majority of outpatient appointments from UHG to Merlin Park.
Speaking at the opening Tánaiste Micheál Martin said; “I’m delighted to be in Galway today to open the state-of-the-art new Outpatients Building at Merlin Park University Hospital – an important milestone in healthcare in Galway and across the West which will play a significant role in enhancing services for patients.”
“The opening of this new facility is also a key step in GUH’s masterplan and will allow for vital progress to be made on many other projects.”
Welcoming the new development, Hospital Manager Chris Kane, said, “This new facility is a welcome addition that will allow us to expand and improve our outpatient services to patients while providing those services in a contemporary, larger building which creates a much better environment for our patients and to utilises virtual technology and paper lite processes.”
The new two-story facility, designed to the highest standards in energy efficiency, includes 38 consultation rooms, five treatment rooms, as well as virtual clinic rooms.
All consultation rooms are designed to be adaptable to any medical or surgical outpatient clinic, with some rooms outfitted with specialised equipment.
With a floor space of 2,300m2, this new modern structure, which is light and airy, was carefully designed with patients’ requirements in mind.
Other facilities include two waiting areas, two reception areas, lifts, staff support areas and ancillary accommodation. The site additionally offers 88 dedicated parking spaces and 12 bicycle parking spaces.
The project was tendered through the Public Procurement process and a building contractor was appointed in February 2023.
The project which achieved substantial completion in July 2024, is currently being fitted out with specialist equipment and is expected to be operational in Q1 2025.
Ann Cosgrove, Integrated Healthcare Area Manager, HSE Galway Roscommon added, “The new outpatient building is a significant milestone in our vision for the model 4 hospital in our region.”
“By relocating OPD we can separate low complexity, high volume episodes of care and free up capacity in UHG for complex, acute elective and unscheduled care. These steps are essential to ensure long-term capacity for the growing healthcare needs in this region.”
