Galway Bay fm newsroom – Management at University Hospital Galway is being criticised over its failure to implement a new policy designed to tackle overcrowding at the A&E department.
INMO Secretary Liam Doran says that a revised escalation policy agreed in recent weeks is designed to place the whole system on alert once signs of overcrowding appear.
However, he claims that the policy has yet to be introduced, despite the fact that UHG is in a ‘very difficult situation’ with regards overcrowding.
He also says that Management are withholding the findings of an external report on the system in operation at the hospitals A&E department.
It’s reported that overcrowding so far this month is up ten percent on the figure for last year – with January 2015 being the worst month for overcrowding on record.
It follows the revelation that the number of patients on trolleys at UHG increased by almost 25% last year – with over 5,300 patients awaiting a bed during 2015.
Speaking to Keith Finnegan, Liam Doran says that immediate action is needed.