The tragic case of an 88-years-old woman who died on a trolley while waiting for treatment at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Galway (UHG), has been raised at a Health Forum meeting.
However, attempts to question and hold hospital management to account over the incident, which was first reported in the Galway City Tribune a fortnight ago, were ruled out of order.
City Councillor Pádraig Conneely (FG) attempted to raise the tragedy at a HSE West Regional Health Forum meeting.
Tony Canavan, Chief Officer of Saolta Hospital Group, commenced the meeting with a ‘good news update’ for members.
Cllr Conneely was not impressed, however, and contrasted Mr Canavan’s ‘good news’ with the ‘horrific’ plight of a pensioner left to die on a trolley at UHG last Wednesday week.
He was told to raise the matter at the end of the meeting under (AOB) Any Other Business.
But when he attempted to question the executive on the matter under AOB three hours later, he was shot-down and told he was out of order.
Not before he gave some details about the woman, who he said had spent two hours on a trolley and hadn’t been triaged, before she suffered what is understood to be cardiac arrest. She had been brought to hospital by ambulance, it is understood.
Chairperson of the forum, Clare County Councillor Tom McNamara, (FF) asked Cllr Conneely to “respect the chair” and to stop raising the issue.
Cllr McNamara told him that he should submit a written question, which would be responded to at the next meeting, in December.
“That’s two months, the woman died last week . . . can they not answer me,” asked Cllr Conneely. He wondered what use was AOB if serious matters could not be discussed.
Last week, Saolta Group confirmed to this newspaper that an investigation into the matter had been launched. It was being “reviewed externally in conjunction with the National Ambulance Service”, Saolta said.