Healthcare staff across Galway are now being vaccinated in the newly established Vaccination Centre in the racecourse in Ballybrit. Healthcare staff from Galway University Hospitals, Community Healthcare West and staff from agencies funded by the HSE are now being provided with their COVID-19 vaccine at the racecourse.
The Saolta University Health Care Group is currently recruiting staff to support the roll out of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. The Group is looking for clinical staff (a minimum of 19.5 and maximum 39 hours per week) who are eligible to administer vaccines for an initial 3 month contract, which may be extended. The Group is also recruiting Health Care Assistants and administrative staff to support the vaccination centres.
In early January all but very urgent and time critical inpatient and day surgery was curtailed across the hospitals* in the Saolta group. In light of very significant pressure in the hospitals caused by COVID-19 and high community infection rates, it is now necessary to continue the current restrictions to ensure patient safety and wellbeing. The deferrals are in place for a further two week period and will be kept under review.
The HSE has joined with the Mayo County Council and the Gardaí in the county to appeal to the people of Mayo to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
The hospitals in the Saolta Group are deferring all but very urgent and time critical inpatient and day surgery from 05 January. Outpatient clinics will also be curtailed and some of these will take place virtually unless it is absolutely necessary for patients to be seen.
“We must stay home to protect ourselves and our loved ones”
Dr Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health in the West has urged the people of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon to stay home unless absolutely necessary and double down in their efforts to follow the HSE’s public health advice to help reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19 across our community.
Welcome to the Winter 2020 edition of the Saolta University Health Care Group newsletter featuring some of the developments and achievements that have been taking place in hospitals throughout the Group.
Click here to download a copy of the Saolta e-Newsletter Issue 44 Winter 2020
Staff in the Saolta University Health Care Group are once again supporting the UNICEF ‘Get a Vaccine, Give a Vaccine’ campaign by getting their flu vaccination. For every member of staff who gets a flu vaccine, Saolta will donate 10 polio vaccines to UNICEF.
This is the fourth year that staff have been supporting UNICEF in this way and last year a total of 45,500 vaccines were donated on behalf of staff in the Saolta Group of hospitals.
The Saolta University Health Care Group today (December 14, 2020) published the first group-wide Patient and Public Engagement Strategy 2020-2023. This Strategy builds on work which has taken place over the last number of years in each of the Saolta Group hospitals, to improve and embed positive patient and public engagement.
