Twelve new beds to open in Portiuncula hospital next week
The news that twelve new beds will open at Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinasloe next week has been welcomed by local Senator Aisling Dolan.
The additional facilities are in the new Dunlo Ward, situated in the old outpatient department, and are due to open from Monday, September 18.
"Twelve new beds, including eight single en-suite rooms, will nearly double the existing amount of single bedroom spaces in the hospital," said Senator Dolan.
"Single rooms are crucial to manage infection control and to give patients dignity and privacy with families.
"There is severe pressure in the Emergency Department with high numbers of patients presenting over the last few weeks. This new development will relieve some of this pressure and also give space for children and paediatrics in the Emergency Department.
"The 12 new beds opening this Monday represent a €5 million project that will be the first of many changes for staff and patients at Portiuncula University Hospital.
"People visiting the hospital can now see the 50-bed ward block. This new build, due to open in 2024, will have 50 single en suite beds and will move people out of multi-bed wards.
"We have excellent healthcare teams in the hospital, and close to an extra 200 people working in the hospital, however it is an old building dating to the 1940s and much space is required.
"Earlier this year, in February, I brought An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to visit Portiuncula University Hospital where he met management and healthcare teams.
"He visited the Emergency Department and saw the challenges for staff and crowded conditions for patients. Our hospital covers a wide region, including 20,000-plus people in Athlone."
She said that following representations to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, and to the Taoiseach, an expansion of the Emergency Department in Portiuncula had been included in the HSE Capital Plan for 2023.
"We urgently need a minimum of ten additional treatment bays. A tender to design this project will be shortly issued by Saolta," added the Fine Gael representative.
"In 2023, over €20 million was allocated to projects in Portiuncula Hospital to complete the construction of the 50 bed ward block, 12 new beds in the hospital, new CT Scanner, as well as general building and electrical upgrades.
"Staff and patients will see major changes in the next year or so.
"Our hospital caters to over 400,000 across Galway, Roscommon, parts of Westmeath, Offaly and North Tipperary. We have an excellent staff and close to 1,000 people working in this 24/7 acute hospital. It is a lifeline for so many in our region," she concluded.