All planned admissions to the Western Health Board's flagship hospital in Galway had to be cancelled yesterday due to overcrowding in its accident and emergency department, reports Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent.
There were 16 patients on trolleys in the A&E department of University College Hospital Galway waiting for beds early yesterday and this precipitated the cancellation of planned surgery for several patients.
In an attempt to free beds for those on trolleys, consultants at the hospital were asked by management to review the in-patients under their care to see if any were fit for discharge.
The notice to staff said: "This morning there are 16 patients on trolleys in A&E awaiting beds. All elective admissions have been deferred for today."
In a statement the Western Health Board said that from time to time the hospital, as was the case with other hospitals throughout the country, had had to defer planned elective surgery because the hospital was dealing with large numbers of emergency admissions.
Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) said overcrowding in accident and emergency units in the main hospitals in the eastern region reached extremely high levels this week.
It said there were 156 patients on trolleys in A&E units in the main hospitals in the region on Monday. The number on trolleys on Tuesday was 126.
On Wednesday the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, met the chief executives of the main Dublin hospitals to discuss A&E overcrowding.
Dealing with this problem will be a priority for her while at the Department of Health, she has said.
The meeting was the first of a series between both sides and no initiatives have been agreed to deal with the problem so far.