The government\u2019s decision to scrap plans for an elective-only hospital in Galway must be reversed, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2021, the government committed to building elective-only hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin to support the separation of scheduled and unscheduled care. These facilities are needed to ensure that emergency and urgent care does not crowd-out elective care – non-emergency, planned procedures – which makes waiting lists and waiting times longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese elective-only hospitals were a key recommendation in the 2017 Sl\u00e1intecare report in which the need to protect capacity for elective care was clearly recognised. But now, instead of a standalone elective-only hospital, the plans for Galway appear to have been downgraded to little more than an extension.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original plan was for a 200-bed elective-only hospital on the Merlin Park site, made up of 75 elective inpatient beds and 125 day-case beds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the preliminary business case approved by government in 2022, Galway\u2019s new elective-only hospital was to be built and fully operational by 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, now we have learned that senior officials from Galway University Hospital say they have had to \u2018refine the scope and budget\u2019 for developing the Merlin Park site, forcing them to \u2018leverage existing infrastructure wherever possible\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was confirmed in the D\u00e1il yesterday by Minister Mary Butler. According to the minister, they are now considering just extending the new surgical hub at Merlin Park, which is due to open this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cA slightly enlarged surgical hub is no replacement for a standalone elective hospital. The minister may have tried to dress this up as good news for Galway, but this is a serious diluting of previous commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubt that surgical hubs help ease pressure in the short-term, but only a standalone elective hospital can deliver the capacity needed to significantly reduce waiting times and free up capacity in existing hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also need urgent clarity on her plans for Cork and Dublin\u2019s elective-only hospitals. Are they to suffer the same fate?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sl\u00e1intecare recommendation to build elective-only hospitals must be seen as integral, not optional. Failure to progress elective-only hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin would undermine the entire reform plan.”<\/p>\n
M\u00edde Nic Fhionnlaoich, the Social Democrats\u2019 by-election candidate for Galway West, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a betrayal of the people of Galway by this government. The Minister for Health must urgently make good on previous commitments and deliver an elective-only hospital for Galway, not a slightly enlarged hub.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything less would be a token gesture, and a far cry from the radical reorientation of healthcare envisioned under Sl\u00e1intecare.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Galway, we have some of the longest waiting lists in the country for this kind of care. It’s unacceptable for the government to walk back their commitments when there are so many people waiting months and years for elective procedures.”<\/p>\n
February 19, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government\u2019s decision to scrap plans for an elective-only hospital in Galway must be reversed, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice. Deputy Rice said: \u201cIn 2021, the government committed to building elective-only hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin to support the separation of scheduled and unscheduled care. These facilities are needed to ensure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[802,11,803,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-galway-west-by-election","category-health","category-mide-nic-fhionnlaoich","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n