Steps taken by Saolta Hospital Group to address cardiology outpatient waiting times at University Hospital Galway have been praised by a local TD this week.
Measures under the HSE’s Waiting List Action Plan have seen extra temporary staff and overtime allocated for scheduled care so that hospital resources can be used at weekends.
This has resulted in those waiting for cardiology outpatient appointments receiving Saturday appointments.
Local TD Denis Naughten said the initiative is “extremely welcome” and is great news for the 2,632 people on the waiting list for cardiology appointments in Galway University Hospital.
“This is an initiative that could easily be expanded to other services in other hospitals to continue to address lengthy waiting lists,” he said.
The Roscommon-Galway TD sad that offering evening and at weekend appointments would also assist families where parents are working, with the benefits of less work hours lost and less school hours lost for children.
“Given that many of these services are located in primary care buildings, where GP out of hours services are located, these buildings would already be open at these times.”
