Sexual assault unit is delayed

A FURTHER delay in the opening of a dedicated sexual assault unit for the west has been condemned as “utterly deplorable” by the vice- chairwoman of the HSE West Health Forum.

Councillor Catherine Connolly said that for the past two years, HSE West had repeatedly told the forum that the opening of the specialist Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) in Galway was imminent.

Yet another opening date, June 29th, has now come and gone and there is still no sign of the unit opening at the Parkmore Industrial Estate.

The HSE West said the opening of the unit was “imminent”, but was unable to give an exact date.

Councillor Connolly plans to table both a motion and a question for the first meeting of the new health forum next Tuesday – July 14th – seeking a full explanation for the delay and seeking a firm commitment and specific date for the opening of the SATU.

“It is an appalling way for the HSE to deal with such an important service given the prevalence of sexual violence in our community,” she said.

“Indeed, the need for a dedicated sexual assault unit in Galway city was identified over a decade ago and yet no progress has been made,” she said.

The forum vice-chairwoman also wants to know why a substantial property owned by the HSE West beside University Hospital Galway remains vacant while the HSE is proceeding with plans to rent a premises for the unit in an industrial estate.

A HSE West spokeswoman said the opening of the SATU in Galway was “dependant on all the necessary staffing, equipment and infrastructure being in place”.

She said a clinical nurse specialist had been recruited and training had taken place for doctors and nurses interested in participating in the on-call rota.

But the recruitment of a manager for the facility was taking longer than expected. “The fitting out of the unit is progressing, in accordance with approved plans and specifications.

“When premises, staffing and infrastructure are all in place, it will be possible to give an estimated opening date for the service,” said the spokeswoman.

The unit is being developed as a result of a review of sexual assault treatment services nationally by the Department of Health, which was commissioned in 2006.

The review recommended the establishment of six Sexual Assault Treatment Units in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Letterkenny and Galway.

The HSE West has committed to developing a permanent unit on the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital in the long term, but a temporary premises is to be opened in a medical centre at the Parkmore Industrial Estate in the meantime.