HSE West owed over €3million in unpaid Emergency Dept bills
Efforts to allow patients pay on the day
MORE than €3million is owed to the HSE from patients who attended the Emergency Department of hospitals in Galway.
Figures presented to the recent meeting of Regional Health Forum West showed that as of the end of April 2026, the amount outstanding for ED visits to Portiuncula University Hospital amounted to €685,449 while at Galway University Hospital (GUH) it was €2.716 million.
Galway City Councillor Shane Forde expressed concerns that if this debt is not collected, the HSE might have to write it off, which would be a loss of taxpayer’s money.
“How can you attend an A&E, get seen by a clinician and walk out the door without paying and then decide never to pay because nobody is going to bring it to court,” questioned Cllr Forde.
He argued that this amount of money could have easily covered the cost of agency staffing for the first three months of the year.
As of the end of March, the HSE has spent €1.567 million on Agency Nursing Staff in UHG and Merlin Park University Hospitals. This was particularly due to a surge in demand for services during the winter months.
The meeting also heard that HSE West and Northwest has already spent €24.3 million (almost 4 per cent) in excess of its budget for the first three months of 2026.
Regional Director of Finance for HSE West and North West Liam Fogarty assured that the HSE is working on a system to try and collect the fees for attending the Emergency Department when patients present there.
“We do recognise that its more difficult to collect the charges after the event when people leave.
“We are trying to put in a facility to make sure people are given an opportunity to pay on the day,” said Mr Fogarty.
Responding to concerns around expenditure on Agency Staffing, Integrated Health Area Manager for Galway and Roscommon, Ann Cosgrove said that recruitment for positions are ongoing.
“The process is continuous but slow because there is a vetting process needed because we are recruiting for direct patient care,” she added.