The CT Scanner at Portiuncula Hospital has broken down 10 times in the last year and a half, but won’t be replaced until 2022.
Galway TD Denis Naughten said that the Saolta Group has admitted that the Portiuncula CAT Scan machine has been out of action for 144 hours in total this month alone.
“The admission that this scanner will not be replaced until 2022 is unacceptable as the Government announces plans to expand access to diagnostic services such as CT scans to deal with huge waiting lists,” stated Denis Naughten.
This is not only affecting waiting lists, but also adds to any overcrowding problems at the A&E in Portiuncula Hospital he said.
“While the Minister for Health has announced a big plan to spend €600 million to help address overcrowding in our hospitals this winter, including providing access to diagnostic tests for GPs, there is little point if our CT scanner in Portiuncula is not even working for emergency cases.”
“And in a perverse example of what is wrong with our health service, we have a CT scanner just over the road in Roscommon Hospital, which can cater for many more patients, but uses a different software system to that in Ballinasloe.”
“This is despite the fact that both hospitals are supposed to be working closely together in the one hospital group, Saolta, which was originally established in January 2012 as the Galway and Roscommon University Hospital Group, the very first one set up in Ireland.”
