It is a designated supraregional centre for cancer and cardiac services, and is one of the major academic teaching hospitals in Ireland, partnered with University of Galway.

The 8,000sqm radiotherapy centre cost €70.7 million to build and commission and contains new technology which increases significantly the ability to accurately target and treat tumours.

[7] Pádraig Conneely, then mayor of Galway and chair of HSE West, accused the management at the hospital of not improving work practices quickly enough, after reports that 1,348 patients were "left on trolleys" in the first four months of 2014, while noting that this was a decrease since a peak figure of 2,088 in 2011.

This resulted in political calls for the Minister for Health to intervene, as it was the only hospital in the "red zone" in the ranking system, a classification denoting that management and the services provided, require attention.

The independent report however noted that four of the recommendations had not yet been met at the specified time for the review, one of which being an "action plan" for "compliance with national standards within the hospital".