The new out-patient department at Portiuncula hospital will open on the 12th of March, according to Roscommon/Galway deputy Denis Naughten.
He has also been informed that the tender for the construction of the new 50 bed ward block at Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinasloe will be advertised before the end of March, with construction expected to begin this summer.
The issue was raised in the Dáil yesterday by the deputy where it was confirmed that construction will proceed in the summer, subject to the availability of funding.
Denis Naughten also raised the ongoing issue with capacity at Portiuncula Hospital, as it has lost 10% of its acute hospital capacity due to Covid-19 configuration.
It is totally unacceptable, he said, that the hospital is operating at 10% less capacity today, with just 13 single rooms, which leaves it in an impossible position to manage the pandemic and the challenges that currently exist.
Answering the issues raised by the deputy, Minister of State Frank Feighan pointed out that a modular building will provide temporary accommodation for “ED minor injuries treatment and assessment rooms”.
The unit will have a residual value for the displacement of out-patient accommodation after the Covid-19 emergency. Construction works to the modular building at Portiuncula will be complete by the end of the first week of March and the hospital will commission the building for the occupation of the out-patient department the week ending 12th March 2021.”
