Interim Emergency Ward providing 17 beds for UHG’s Emergency Department
Additional 18 beds to open next month
This week a 17 bed interim emergency ward for University Hospital Galway’s Emergency Department opened.
A further 18 beds have been created and are on schedule to open next month. These beds are located within areas previously occupied by social care and physiotherapy services.
In total the new beds represent a €2.2 million investment in UHG’s Emergency Department with the final €700,000 being spent this year.
The new 17 bed emergency ward is very welcome and will help improve working conditions for staff and patient experience of the facility.
The additional 18 beds, on course to open in the next six to eight weeks, will further improve the situation at one of the country’s busiest emergency departments.
While the additional beds will lead to improvements it is universally accepted that overall the current department needs to be replaced and I am encouraged by Health Minister, Leo Varadkar’s commitment to me that the design of the new UHG Emergency Department will take place this year.
A further welcome inclusion in the HSE Service Plan for 2016 is the €10 million in funding this year for the new 75 bed clinical ward block. A total of €17.6 million is being invested in this facility which is course of completion in the last quarter of this year and will be open early next year.
The design of the new block is based on individual rooms which is now the internationally recommended standard for hospital accommodation.
This investment in UHG will help ensure that the facility continues to meet the healthcare needs of the people of Galway and the West.