Galway East TD and Minister for Rural Affairs Seán Canney has lashed the Health Service Executive over its handling of orthopaedic services at Merlin Park Hospital, Galway.
The orthopaedic unit has been in crisis since a leaking roof in the operating theatre forced services to close in 2017.
Now plans to introduce a replacement modular operating theatre have collapsed.
Minister Canney said: “This is a fiasco and I am very disappointed. There is a huge list of people in pain waiting for their operations and it is getting bigger and bigger.
“This has been a matter of urgency for too long. It is time for action.”
Consultants estimate that around 2,000 people are waiting for orthopaedic procedures at the hospital.

For more information, contact Minister Canney on 086-2513639
May 27 2019