The Saolta Hospital Group has said a design team is expected to meet by the end of this month, to hold its first meeting about plans to build a new emergency department at University Hospital Galway.
The Programme for Partnership Government includes a commitment to build a new emergency department in Galway but so far, only funding for the design stage has been forthcoming.
The meeting this month is the initial step in what is likely to be a long process.
It comes 20 months after the Government’s pledge to construct a new emergency department and years since the problems at the hospital were first identified.
The HSE says the present building is not fit for purpose. A lack of space and facilities leads to daily overcrowding and lengthy wait times for people seeking medical assistance.
37 patients are on trolleys in the emergency department this morning, with one patient waiting over 42 hours for a bed.
Staff say there is no space available to see new patients at present and this will result in very long delays for anyone presenting there today.
