Every week in the media we hear reports of overcrowding and congestion in accident and emergency departments across the country. Last year alone, 1.3 million people attended accident and emergency departments, with only 330,000 requiring admission for further treatment. The accident and emergency department in University Hospital Galway is one of the busiest in the country, with more than 60,000 people each year presenting there. Staff are overworked and trying to do their best in almost impossible conditions, working in a unit which is universally accepted as being cramped, dilapidated and not fit for purpose. Hospital management has stated that it is an ongoing challenge to manage the large numbers attending daily and it has become an extremely stressful environment for patients and staff.

Chronic parking congestion at the hospital is also a major problem, and it causes people to miss appointments frequently.

I recently visited a minor injuries unit at Roscommon hospital to see for myself how it operates. I was given a full tour of the facility by the general manager, Ms Mary Garvey, and the director of nursing, Ms Ursula Morgan, and I was very impressed by the facility. I compliment both on the excellent work they do there. They inform me it takes an average of just 55 minutes for a person to be seen, treated and discharged.

The ten other minor injuries units throughout the country can handle everything from broken bones, lacerations, strains and sprains to minor scalds and burns, and they are open seven days per week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Last year, the unit in Roscommon treated more than 6,000 patients. The unit is staffed by a small number of competent staff and is overseen by a consultant physician and an advanced nurse practitioner.

I strongly believe the establishment of a minor injuries unit in the Merlin Park University Hospital grounds would be an immediate and cost-effective method of relieving the overcrowding and stress at the accident and emergency unit at University Hospital Galway. I acknowledge there are plans in train for a new emergency department at University Hospital Galway but this project is still at design stage. A new facility is still many years away.

The HSE target for patients to be seen by a doctor in an accident and emergency unit is six hours. We know, however, that this is never achieved. In Galway, it could be double that time, especially for a non-urgent minor injury. I know of cases where people with a minor injury waited up to 24 hours to be seen.

There are 11 minor injuries units operating very effectively across the country. Surely Galway, which is acknowledged as having one of the most congested accident and emergency departments in the country, should be considered for one. A minor injuries unit could reduce the number attending the emergency department in Galway by thousands.

Is not the obvious solution to provide a minor injuries unit at Merlin Park University Hospital in Galway city? It has acres of space, easier access from almost anywhere in Galway and ample parking. Most important, it would relieve so much of the ongoing pressure on the emergency department at University Hospital Galway.

I thank Deputy Noel Grealish for raising this important matter and for the constructive suggestion he put forward. I am advised that the Saolta University Health Care Group, which runs the hospitals in the west, is working with the HSE to examine the potential for a new day-services hospital block at Merlin Park. As the House will be aware, Project Ireland 2040 provides for ten new hospitals to be built over the next ten years, three of which are now under construction. As part of that, there are plans for a new elective medical centre for Galway. Merlin Park is being considered as one of the possible sites for that centre. It is not currently proposed to have a minor injuries unit as part of that hospital development but the argument the Deputy makes is a very strong one. Someone with a minor injury could have to wait for hours to be seen at the accident and emergency department in Galway because more serious cases are seen first. If he or she were able to get transport to Roscommon, he or she would probably be seen, treated and home in the same time as he or she would spend waiting in University Hospital Galway. That is fine if one has transport or someone to drive one but, of course, that is not possible for everyone.

There are now a number of minor injuries units around the country, in Dundalk, Monaghan, Roscommon, the old orthopaedic hospital in Cork, Smithfield in Dublin, Loughlinstown, and St. John's in Limerick. I only wish people knew more about them. There are thousands of people around the country waiting in waiting rooms in emergency departments who could be seen very quickly at these minor injuries units. There is no such unit in Galway. Galway is a county with a big and growing population. In the context of the hospital development, the plan for Merlin Park, the Deputy makes a very good suggestion to consider a minor injuries unit as part of it. I will certainly pass that on to the Minister for Health and the HSE.

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. I submitted a parliamentary question recently to the Minister for Health on the elective hospital planned for Merlin Park and he replied that this is a long-term plan and that, with a ten-year plan, many proposals, including an elective-only hospital, are at a very early stage. It could be ten, 15 or 20 years away while the minor injuries unit could be up and running by the end of the year. A small staff, including a consultant and advanced nurse, is all that is needed. It could be put in one of the units. The Taoiseach should not be going back to the proposed ten-year plan for building a hospital in Merlin Park because that is a long time down the road. The emergency department in Galway was built in the 1950s and upgraded in the 1990s. It caters for six core counties, with a population of 800,000 people. If we could bring the people with scalds, burns, strains, lacerations and broken bones to a minor injuries unit in Merlin Park, it could reduce the number attending UHG accident and emergency department by tens of thousands. It would free up parking and take the pressure off the staff and the accident and emergency department.

I want the Taoiseach to commit that he will move this project forward. It will alleviate much of the pressure on the accident and emergency department in University Hospital Galway.

In fairness, a ten-year plan does not mean everything happens in year ten; it means that things will happen-----

That is not in the reply from the Minister.

-----over the course of a ten-year period. The Deputy will be aware that the new 75-bed, state-of-the-art ward block in Galway is now open. The construction of the new acute mental health unit in Galway is now complete. That is ready to open. When it comes to radiation oncology for people suffering from cancer, enabling works, including the demolition of the old mental health unit, are due to commence in the third quarter of this year. They will be completed in 2020. When it comes to the new emergency department and ward block for University Hospital Galway, the design team has been appointed and the project should be completed by 2023. The new ambulance base is in design. There is a pipeline of investment and it is happening. I take the Deputy’s point, however, that a minor injuries unit could be put into place, perhaps not this year but relatively quickly.

The Taoiseach should consider the possibility.

There is merit in the suggestion. It does work. It works in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Why would it not work in Galway, therefore? I will certainly appraise the proposal and discuss it with the Minister for Health and the HSE.