Ward closures will have devastating effect, says union

HEALTH trade union IMPACT has claimed a series of ward closures in Galway over the summer will have a devastating effect on patients and communities in the region.

The union yesterday met with Health Service Executive (HSE) management in the west and afterwards said it had been told there would be a summer of cuts which would see:

Merlin Park Hospital’s orthopaedics ward closed for two months in August and September. The union said when the ward reopens it would do so as a five-day ward, rather than seven days at present.