Mayor threatens Dáil march over hospice ‘scandal’
The Galway Hospice has been unable to provide full services since a dispute began last May, involving allegations about the incorrect dispensing of drugs.
The city Mayor Terry O’Flaherty said locals would march to the Dáil if the “scandal” was not resolved. “This should never have gone as far as it did. It is not just affecting Galway, but people all over the West.”
Cancer patients who required palliative care (which is designed to reduce pain and suffering for both the patient and the family) are being treated at the oncology department of University College Hospital, Galway (UCG), rather than the hospice. Ms O’Flaherty said she knew of one case where a local patient had to travel for care in a Dublin hospice.
The Galway Hospice has 65 nursing and administrative staff. It opened a 12-bed centre in Renmore in 1993 to provide a full-time palliative care service. Five years later, the Western Health Board agreed to pay for the cost of nine beds and the appointment of a consultant to the hospice.
However, last May, the present consultant Dr Dympna Waldron refused to refer any new patients to the hospice’s beds, citing concerns about the inappropriate administration of drugs to patients. Although one of the 12 beds is occupied, the remainder have been effectively closed since.
The Galway Hospice set up an independent review group last September to examine the allegations and it is due to report very shortly.
The Western Health Board (WHB) is also conducting a separate investigation into formal complaints lodged by both Dr Waldron and by nursing staff.
A petition containing more than 20,000 signatures has been handed to the WHB to demand the resumption of full services in the hospice.
The WHB has been criticised for not allowing the hospice beds to be used while the two inquiries are ongoing. However, its chief executive Dr Sheelah Ryan has said it is not possible to interfere with a consultant’s right to exercise their clinical judgement in the care of patients. The Galway Hospice has emphasised that its Home Care services, which are funded entirely by voluntary donations, are still fully active.
A spokesman said the hospice would implement the recommendations of the independent review group in full.
It is determined to retain a consultant-led service in the hospice, rather than relying on a doctor. “If you want high-level palliative care, a consultant is essential,” said the spokesman.
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