MAYOR OF Galway Cllr Pádraig Conneely (FG) has accused the Health Service Executive (HSE) West of “hiding the reality” from the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, during his visit to University College Hospital, Galway (UCHG) at the weekend.
Mayor Conneely said hospital management had “cleaned up” the casualty department before Mr Cowen’s visit by moving patients on trolleys into other areas.
“What’s going on is a sham, the real state of health services is being concealed from the leader of this country,” the mayor said.
Mr Cowen had been invited to open the hospital’s cardiothoracic unit which was built at a cost of €20.45 million, and which began surgery almost two years ago.
Film-maker and activist Margaretta D’Arcy, who was a patient in the hospital at the time of Mr Cowen’s visit, protested at his arrival over the health service situation.
She said that three of four people in her ward last week had been on trolleys for 48 hours before receiving beds – one of the three being 71 years old.
She said hospital staff began moving around patients at 11am last Friday – four hours before Mr Cowen was due to arrive.
In a statement yesterday, hospital management said it wished “to stress that no trolleys were moved out of the emergency department, in what Mr Conneely describes, as an attempt to ‘hide the reality’ at UCHG on Friday, and this was, in fact, communicated to Mr Conneely while he was in attendance at the hospital on Friday.”
The major cardiothoracic surgery unit was built with the support of HSE West and Croí, the west of Ireland cardiology foundation, and phase one of its commissioning is almost complete.
The first consultant and lead surgeon, Mark Da Costa, was appointed in October 2006, followed by consultant surgeon Dave Veerasingam in January 2007.
The team includes specialised nursing staff, perfusionists and allied health professionals trained in the care of cardiothoracic patients, working with cardiologists, oncologists, pathologists and radiologists in a multi-disciplinary setting.
The unit’s service is not confined to Galway, and serves a catchment of one million, extending from Donegal to Clare.
UCHG general manager Bridget Howley told Mr Cowen that the unit provided an extensive range of treatments for patients with both heart and lung disease, and “positioned” the hospital well for lung cancer treatment under the national cancer control programme.
She acknowledged “the very significant contribution of Croí, and our close working relationship for more than 20 years”.