University Hospital Galway will not be receiving any of the emergency beds being provided in the latest round of assistance amid a serious overcrowding crisis.
The Department of Health is providing 78 emergency beds to overcrowded hospitals meant to ease the trolley crisis going in the winter period.
But those beds are going to just four hospitals, and the majority will not be available until early next year.
According to the Irish Independent Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda will receive 30 additional beds, while the lion’s share will go to South Tipperary General Hospital with a 40 bed modular block.
The remaining eight beds will be split evenly between the Mater Hospital in Dublin and Cork University Hospital.
Last month was the worst October on record for overcrowding with 9,055 patients on trolleys, 716 people were left without a bed at UHG alone.
It’s feared that by January at the worst of the winter crisis, there could be 1,000 patients left on trolleys each day.
The HSE has said that since last winter it has added an additional 240 beds at hospitals around the country.
University Hospitals Galway and Limerick, frequently the most overcrowded in the country, were among those to receive assistance.
Since records began in 2006, hospital overcrowding has increased by more than 400%Â .
But Health Minister Simon Harris claims that progress is being made on tackling hospital waiting lists.
There are currently 72,700 patients waiting for surgery in Ireland, and this may drop to just over 70,000 by the end of the year.
That number is projected to fall further to 59,000 by the end of 2019.
While the number of patients waiting more than nine months is down from 28,000 in July of last year to 19,000.
