Minister of State at the Department of Health, Galway based Hildegarde Naughton, has confirmed that design work for a new interim surgical hub in Merlin Park Hospital is progressing, with the new unit to be included in the forthcoming Health Capital Plan. The interim hub will ensure increased capacity for elective surgeries and take pressure off University Hospital Galway (UHG), pending the building of the new Elective Hospital on the Merlin Park site.
In addition, the Department is finalising the sanctioning of new staff at present, admin support and theatre nurses particularly, who will commence working in UHG and move across when the new unit is completed.
The Minister says that the hub will be modelled on the very successful Reeves Centre at Tallaght University Hospital. It is intended that it will be operational in 12-18 months time.
“Its a vital interim measure to ensure that elective procedures, such as endoscopy, minor operations, outpatient treatment and outpatient diagnostics services, can be carried out away from the UHG site thus ensuring that they are not cancelled when bed pressures are acute in UHG”, Minister Naughton concluded.
