News
Councillor among 5,800 people yet to pay A&E bill
University Hospital Galway (UHG) is owed almost €600,000 in unpaid Emergency Department (ED) charges, new figures reveal.
Saolta, the group that manages the city hospital, has confirmed that some €593,400 is owing to UHG in unpaid charges for patients’ visits to ED.
This amount of money in unpaid bills relates to 5,805 patient accounts as of November 31, 2015, Saolta said.
The figures were released to this newspaper under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
The ED of UHG has been consistently criticised by patients, staff and politicians for overcrowding, huge numbers of patients on trolleys, and lengthy waiting times to be seen and treated.
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Health Leo Varadkar have both separately agreed that it is not fit for purpose.
A former city mayor and chairperson of the HSE West Regional Health Forum, City Councillor Pádraig Conneely (FG) said he was ‘not surprised’ by the figure, which he said was ‘quite high’.
Cllr Padraic Conneely: “I think patients are resisting payment because they are not getting the standard of treatment”.
“I think patients are resisting payment because they are not getting the standard of treatment and service that they expect for their visit to the Emergency Department which costs €100. And I wouldn’t blame them . . . I think if you go to the Emergency Department and are seen within a few hours and are treated then people would be happy to pay.
“But when you’re left waiting on trolleys for hours and hours on end, or when you don’t even get a trolley, and then they send you home without being seen and you have to come back again the next day and go through the whole thing all over again . . . people aren’t happy to pay for that service,” he said.
Councillor Conneely, who presented at the ED last Summer, confirmed he is one of the 5,805 patients who has yet to pay his bill.
The long-standing critic of the HSE and certain aspects of the hospital, said he has been billed €300 although it relates to the same visit.
“I was in there Race Week on the Thursday and didn’t even get a trolley. I was waiting on a chair for hours and was sent home. I had to go back in the next day because the pain didn’t go away.
“I had to go through the whole procedure again and tell them everything and was left waiting for hours and then was sent home again. I was in agony. I returned on the Saturday and told them it was serious and that I was not leaving until I got a bed. And then they billed me for three separate visits – I couldn’t believe it!
“I’m not surprised that the hospital is owed that amount of money because like me, many people are probably being billed several times for the same thing,” he said.
Councillor Conneely, who is on the mend, said he would pay €100 but would be disputing being charged three times.
Saolta does not comment on individual cases. In relation to the total owing to UHG, it said the figure relates to “all patients attending the Emergency Department and includes older balances that have been referred to debt collectors which may be written off before the year end. I wish to advise that Galway University Hospitals makes every effort to ensure that outstanding monies are recouped.”
From this week’s Galway City Tribune – An extensive gorse fire in the Tonabrocky area this week – which raged for over 12 hours – at one stage threatened a number of houses in the area.
Fire Brigade resources were stretched as they battled on Wednesday evening to contain the fire which burned across several acres before being brought under control in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Fire brigade units from the city, Athenry and Carraroe fought the blaze, which at one point led to fears that residents in nearby houses would have to be evacuated.
Up to six fire tenders were involved in fighting the blaze which is thought to have started around 4 or 5pm on Wednesday – it was one of a series of gorse fires which occurred around the county over the course of the past week.
Fire Brigade personnel fought the blaze through the evening and into the early hours of the morning before eventually having it fully contained by 6am on Thursday morning.
The fire – which sent plumes of smoke several feet into the air and also across local roads – occurred at an area of commonage between Boleybeg and Tonabrocky.
Local councillor, John Connolly, has urged Galway City and County Councils to come together and launch an awareness’ campaign about the dangers of fires during extended periods of dry weather.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the June 9 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.
From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The HSE has paid €11.85 million for the building to house its new ‘Integrated Care Hub’ in Knockncacarra – which is €1.35m over the open market value of the office block.
Confidential HSE documentation seen by the Galway City Tribune shows that Block A in Galway West Business Park – the former Aviva Insurance building – was independently valued at €10.5m.
The HSE subsequently paid €11.85m for the property.
According to the documentation, the building will cost €14.85m to fit out – however, that figure was based on construction costs in February 2022 and is expected to rise again due to inflation. Just seven months prior to that estimate, the fit-out works were costed at €10.8m.
A planning application is currently being put together for a new ‘Enhanced Primary Care Centre’ in the building, which will house Primary Care Teams as well as a unit for chronic disease management. A total of 105 staff will be based there.
When the matter was brought to the Board of the HSE nationally, they were told the purchase price was €1.3m above market value.
The other option shortlisted by the HSE was a ‘new build’ on lands at Merlin Park – this was costed at €33.1m because it would involve “considerable site upgrade works” and would much longer to deliver.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the June 9 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.
From this week’s Galway City Tribune – Gardaí in the city are investigating two reported incidents over the weekend of indecent exposure and offensive sexual conduct – one of them at a beach in Salthill and the other in the Eyre Square area.
In the first of the incidents in Eyre Square on Friday last, a man approached a woman at around 5.30pm and exposed himself.
The woman reported the incident to the Gardaí who are carrying out an investigation into what happened.
The second incident – which is understood to be unrelated to the first one – occurred at a busy beach in Salthill on Bank Holiday Monday.
One mother who contacted the Galway City Tribune said that she saw a man ‘writhing up and down in the sand’ before putting his hand down in the front of his Bermuda shorts.
She said that about 10-minutes later, the man moved along to the next beach – which was also crowded with people – while another woman nearby, who saw the same actions, contacted the Gardai.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the June 9 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.
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