Hundreds of angry staff and patients are to stage a rally outside UHG tomorrow, in opposition to cutbacks in the health service and proposed plans to 'close' the hospital for the month of August.

Discussions are currently underway at management level regarding a proposed closure of the hospital, which would see outpatient services and elective surgeries cease for up to four weeks in an effort to cut staffing costs.

The plans have been met with disbelief and frustration by staff and local representatives, who say that patients will be greatly affected by any scale-back of service. Cllr Catherine Connolly has condemned the move saying it was "unbelievable" that hospital authorities were considering such measures.

"It is simply unbelievable that management would be not only considering such an option but actually maintaining that it is for the benefit of patients and services. It is quite clear that plans to reduce any of the services in the Regional Hospital in Galway will simply add to the distress and suffering of the patients effected. It will also lengthen the waiting lists for all treatments. Currently for example, the waiting list for Ear Nose and Throat treatment is five years. Furthermore, elective surgery is cancelled on a regular basis in the Regional Hospital due to lack of staff and unavailability of operating theatres. If a partial shut down of the hospital was to go ahead the hospital situation would be unimaginable," she said.

The HSE has refused to confirm or deny that the closure may go ahead, saying no decision has been made as of yet.

"Every year the hospital scales back elective procedures over a number of weeks in the summer, generally a time of reduced activity in the hospital. This does not impact on emergency or urgent admissions or key specialties, for example cancer specialties," a hospital spokesperson said.

"This allows essential maintenance works to be carried out while the hospital is less busy and also means that we can manage the service during what is a peak holiday time. No decision has been made yet in relation to these plans for this year," they added.