Sir, – I was pleased to read Keith Cargill’s positive remarks about his experience in getting a hip replacement in Galway’s Merlin Park hospital (April 9th).
Mr Cargill may be pleased to hear that the concerns that he expressed about the future of the hospital are without foundation. As the new group chief executive of the Galway and Roscommon Group of Hospitals incorporating GUH, Merlin Park, Portiuncula and Roscommon – I can assure him that Merlin Park will play a vital role in the group. Moves made to secure the fully effective operation of the orthopaedic services at the hospital (Home News, April 9th) are a case in point.
Far from running down Merlin Park, we intend to increase activity there. The Minister’s establishment of the group of hospitals, as part of his broader reform agenda, allows the opportunity to manage services across the four hospitals and the optimum calibration of services across the group. It is important to note that as part of our overall strategy we intend moving certain services out of GUH into other hospitals in the group and indeed this has already commenced with the transfer of some service to Roscommon Hospital. Any such changes will be tailored to provide safe, effective services for patients across the group.
As regards the comments on overcrowding, considerable progress has been made in GUH in recent months with the introduction of a number of measures which have significantly reduced the number of patients awaiting admission – as evidenced by INMO and SDU reports in recent weeks and showing no patients waiting for a bed in GUH over the Easter period.
We clearly have more work to do, but the opportunities afforded to us as a group of hospitals will be utilised to the full and Merlin Park will be a significant part of this. – Yours, etc,