Change of Visiting Times at University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park University Hospital

University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park University Hospital are introducing new visiting times from Tuesday 03 August. From this date, the hospitals will be facilitating one visitor per patient each day between 6pm and 8pm. Visits must be arranged by family members/visitors in advance by contacting the relevant ward or Unit.

Ms Chris Kane, Hospital Manager at Galway University Hospitals explained the reason for the change and said, “In June we eased the visiting restrictions that had been in place as part of our response to COVID-19. At that stage we introduced a one-hour visiting time in the afternoon and a one-hour visiting time in the evening. However, the afternoon visiting time resulted in long queues of visitors waiting to get into the hospital, while we also had heavy footfall of people attending outpatient and other clinics.

“In order to help us manage the volume of people in the hospital and maintain social distancing, we are changing to a two-hour visiting time every evening. This should be more convenient for people who want to visit after work and for ease of parking.

“Visitors are required to complete a COVID-19 screening checklist on entry to the hospital, to follow public health guidance including wearing a surgical mask and performing good hand hygiene regularly, during their visit to the hospital.

“Children are not permitted to visit the hospital at this time unless agreed in advance, on compassionate grounds, with the ward manager.

"We are grateful to the public for their co-operation in ensuring we can facilitate visiting in a safe manner to protect both patients and visitors."

Details on maternity department visiting are available from: https://www2.hse.ie/services/hospital-service-disruptions/hospital-service-disruptions-covid19.html