Galway Bay fm newsroom:
Clinical teams at UHG and Merlin Park Hospitals have delivered over 36,000 virtual outpatient consultations since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Normally, the hospitals deliver over 280,000 outpatient appointments every year.
However due to patient and staff safety, clinical teams used technology to link with patients and continue to monitor them.
Prior to the onset on COVID-19, the cardiology outpatient service in University Hospital Galway would see 9500 patients each year with seven clinics per week, with up to 50 patients attending each.
Since March through telephone consultations and later video consults - 3,800 virtual cardiology outpatient appointments have been delivered.
Chris Kane, Hospital Manager of the Galway University Hospitals group says almost overnight clinical teams had to re-assess how they could safely manage patients and put plans and processes in place.
