The Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway is under significant pressure today with high attendances and long waiting times.
The high number of people attending who need to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there is pressure on bed availability.
This is resulting in significant delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who are waiting for a bed to become available on a ward.
There are currently 36 patients on trolleys in ED awaiting admission to in-patient beds. UHG’s Acute Medical Unit is also incredibly busy today.
All available beds are in use and UHG says every effort is being made to discharge patients who are ready to go home so that beds will become available for patients who need to be admitted, at the earliest opportunity.
The hospital acknowledges that these delays are very difficult for patients and their families and apologises for the inconvenience and distress these delays cause.
The hospital is committed to treating everyone who presents at the Emergency Department; people who are seriously injured or ill are assessed and treated as a priority and those who do not require urgent care may be waiting longer.
If your health problem is not an emergency you should contact your GP during normal surgery hours or the Westdoc GP out of hours service, in the first instance.
As an alternative to the Emergency Department – for minor injuries – the Injury Unit in Roscommon University Hospital is open from 8am to 8pm every day to treat a range of injuries in both adults and children over five years of age.
