Galway Bay fm newsroom - There are at least 70 empty nursing home spaces across Galway which could be used to alleviate the current pressure on UHG.
The latest study from Nursing Homes Ireland reveals that of 15 Galway homes surveyed, 69 beds are vacant.
It comes as management at UHG issue another appeal today as the hospital struggles to cope with overcrowding, and has implemented the full capacity protocol
Today, 36 patients are waiting on trolleys due to a high number of admissions at the emergency department.
In a statement to Galway Bay fm news the HSE has pointed out that the childrens' ED is not affected by the congestion in the adult department.
So far this year almost 3,700 patients have spent time waiting on a trolley at UHG.
New figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reveal that it's one of the worst trolley figures in the country behind University Hospital Limerick and Cork University Hospital.
Nationally, the INMO says almost 58,000 people found themselves on trolleys in the year to July.
