Galway Bay fm newsroom:
Over 11 and a half thousand people are currently waiting on elective surgeries at hospitals in Galway.
Figures from this week's meeting of the Health Forum have confirmed significant waiting lists for surgeries primarily at Merlin Park Hospital, with a number of patients awaiting procedures in UHG.
Elective surgeries at both hospitals were drastically reduced during the early months of the pandemic, causing waiting lists to grow further.
According to COO of the Saolta University Healthcare Group, Ann Cosgrove, certain levels of activity have been restored at Merlin Park Hospital and UHG, with work on a new orthopedic theatre at Merlin Park set to begin by year's end.
Almost 3 and a half thousand patients have been added to the waiting lists over the past 6 months, with more than 2,600 waiting more than a year for elective procedures and close to 2,000 waiting over two years for surgery.
