The construction of the new fifty bed ward block at Portiuncula Hospital has the potential to allow capacity at the hospital to be increased by an extra twenty beds by utilising existing wards, according to local Independent Deputy, Denis Naughten.
“Within the existing hospital building there is the potential for additional twenty bed capacity in St. Joseph’s Ward and the development of new services in St. Francis’s Ward, enabling patients to be diagnosed and treated in Ballinasloe rather than having to travel to Galway or Dublin.
“Last month and again this month we have seen increased numbers of patients on trolleys and these additional beds are urgently needed. I believe that once the new fifty bed ward block has been constructed and is open then it will be possible to increase capacity at Portiuncula Hospital by an extra twenty beds by utilising the existing structure and this is an option I believe should be considered with the situation we have witnessed in our hospitals since Christmas," Deputy Naughten commented.
The Independent Deputy affirmed that the new ward block would ease pressure on a continually overcrowded accident and emergency department at Portiuncula Hospital.
“My biggest priority during my term in Government was to secure investment for the new 50 ward block at Portiuncula Hospital and I worked for over two years to secure funding and to ensure the Government committed to a delivery date of 2022, making Portiuncula Hospital one of the few major hospital building projects that got the green light to proceed in 2019.
“This new ward block will not only help to take pressure off the accident and emergency department at Portiuncula Hospital but will also address issues with the management of infection in the hospital, an issue consistently raised by HIQA inspections," Deputy Naughten concluded.
