Galway TD and Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, has welcomed Cabinet approval to proceed with the next steps required for the provision of a new Elective Hospital for Galway and the region.
This new service will be delivered in two phases, commencing with day cases, diagnostics and outpatients, followed by inpatient treatment.
Speaking after leaving the Cabinet meeting, Minister Naughton said she welcomed the decision of her Cabinet colleagues which will allow the Galway Elective Hospital project proceed to the next stages ahead of design and construction.
“A new Elective Hospital is of paramount importance to Galway if we are to tackle the mounting waiting lists for patients in Galway and the wider region.
"Critically, the decision taken at Cabinet specifically commits to inpatient treatment. I have long campaigned for the greater provision of inpatient capacity and today’s decision is a positive step in delivering just that," she said.
Continuing, Minister Naughton also confirmed with her Cabinet colleagues that further engagement will be required with the clinicians and stakeholders on the ground.
"We now need to ensure that this new and critical piece of infrastructure is fit for purpose and will achieve our collective goal of substantially reducing our elective care waiting lists.
"The best way to do this is with close collaboration and consultation with local stakeholders, thus ensuring that the new Elective hospital will be developed with the specific needs of Galway and the region at the fore.”
“Today’s decision is good news for Galway and surrounding counties. It is also good news for the thousands of patients who linger on waiting lists in the hope of an appointment.
"I have campaigned for this hospital as Senator, TD and Minister. Today’s formal decision by Government is a vindication of my view that this Elective Hospital is essential to the healthcare needs of Galway and the wider region," she concluded.
The Department of Health said the elective hospitals will provide additional capacity and help address waiting lists, while being as flexible and adaptable as possible to facilitate a future phase, which would include some elective in-patient treatment.
In a statement, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said: “The development of these three elective hospitals will provide a sustainable and strategic response to cater for the evolving healthcare needs, treatments, and practice for care of patients – delivering the right care, in the right place at the right time.”
The department said the development of the hospitals, as referenced in National Development Plan 2021 – 2030, will require “significant infrastructural investment”.
It said the Elective Hospitals Oversight Group, under the joint governance of the department, the HSE and Sláintecare, would guide the development of the hospital proposals.
“The Oversight Group is following the process outlined in the updated Public Spending Code, setting out the value for money requirements for the evaluation, planning, and management of large public investment projects,” it said.
Preliminary Business Cases for each elective hospitals are at an advanced stage of development and are expected to be submitted to the Department of Health in early 2022.
