Fine Gael Election Candidate, Minister Hildegarde Naughton, has welcomed the completion of the masterplan for the University Hospital Galway (UHG ) complex on Newcastle Road. Minister Naughton has long advocated for the relocation of elective care away from this site to Merlin Park Hospital and this plan is a vindication of that view.
“I am delighted to see this masterplan completed, and, more importantly, be accepted by the Department of Health. UHG is the only Level 4 Hospital in the region and for far too long has tried to shoe-horn elective and emergency care onto one congested site. It has not worked, and I am very pleased to see the Department of Health accept that it has not,” the Minister said.
This plan will remove the vast majority of elective care away from UHG to Merlin Park Hospital and will allow the provision in UHG of;
- New inpatient wards
- Emergency department
- Women and children’s department
- Laboratory UHG
- Ambulatory cancer centre UHG
- Theatres and critical care
“The removal of elective care from UHG in particular will allow for the building of additional ward blocks which will allow for quicker throughput from Accident and Emergency and also provide for our growing population,” she noted.
“This masterplan is a game changer for healthcare in the West. For too long we have had a myriad of plans and schemes but little in the way of integrated thinking or actions. This plan now provides a solid blueprint for significant improvements in healthcare locally and it has my full support,” Minster Naughtonadded, concluding that the whole purpose of this plan was to provide a functioning future-proofed Model 4 hospital for the region.
‘I am very pleased that the Department of Health have approved it. What it now needs is full scale political support rather than criticism. If re-elected, I intend on ensuring this masterplan is implemented and delivered for the people of Galway and the West.”
