Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this debate. I am very disappointed to find myself here once again. This is an issue I have raised on numerous occasions in the Dáil Chamber and at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. It shows how important the issue is for the people of Waterford. Two years ago, I received a letter from the former Minister, Deputy Reilly, offering certain assurances to the people of Waterford and the south east regarding the health services in Waterford. This letter came after a winter of discontent in Waterford in which we saw thousands of people take to the streets, having come from all around the south east, to show that they were concerned about a possible downgrading of Waterford Regional Hospital, as it was known then. Their fear was centred, as it is centred now, around the Higgins report, which examined the reorganisation of hospital groupings. After a lot of fear, we were promised that this would make things better. I attended a lot of meetings, and at each of these Professor Higgins promised us time and again that what we had would be protected and services would be enhanced. We were told this would be a good thing for people in Waterford and the south east. The letter from the former Minister, Deputy Reilly, said that the establishment of hospital groups would enhance cardiology cover in Waterford. It went on to say: "[T]he increased flexibility of staff across the group will enable us to achieve our goal of providing cardiology cover at Waterford Regional Hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Two years on, we are no closer to that. Deputy John Halligan, who also represents Waterford, raised the very serious case two weeks ago of a man from Waterford who sadly and tragically died because the service was not available. A second cath laboratory to provide 24-7 cardiology services is needed. We were told at the time that we would get it. I now understand that a business plan is being put together and that this would cost €1.5 million, which is only a small amount in the context of the delivery of health services. This small amount of money would copperfasten services at University Hospital Waterford, UHW. We need an around the clock service. This requires provision of a second cath laboratory and the staff required to keep two laboratories open.

There are also shortcomings at the hospital in terms of dermatology services. It is worth noting that the south east has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the country. Currently, there is no consultant dermatologist at University Hospital Waterford. One consultant is due to return from leave at the end of the month and interviews are taking place to fill other posts. This means that the people of Waterford now have to travel from the city to the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital in Cork to see a consultant. I will give an example in this regard. I was contacted by a distressed family whose mother is 79 years of age and is in a great deal of pain because of a very serious skin condition. She constantly breaks out in blisters which burst which, as one can imagine, is very painful. This lady, who is almost 80 years of age, is forced to travel to Cork to see a consultant for a five or ten minute consultation. This involves a four hour round trip journey for a fragile woman. It also places extra pressure on her family, who, because there is no transport available, have to take days off work to bring her to Cork, and all for a service that should be available in Waterford. Dermatology services at University Hospital Waterford have been reduced to one afternoon clinic on a Wednesday. This is not the vibrant future that was promised to the people of Waterford. The case I highlighted is only one of the less serious cases.

I invite the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, to read last week's Waterford News & Starwhich outlines a truly awful case of a man who almost died because of a lack of dermatology services in University Hospital Waterford. A father of two whose skin was red and bubbling arrived in accident and emergency, where he spent 18 hours on a trolley and was misdiagnosed twice. As the doctors had never before seen the condition, a conscientious nurse faxed photographs of the man's skin to the Cork hospital. The consultants there took one look at them and advised that the man be sent to Cork immediately. The irony is that although there was a consultant dermatologist conducting his Wednesday clinic in UHW, the man did not get to see him. There were no ambulances available to take this extremely sick man to Cork as, he was told, access to the ambulance service required two days notice. This man, whose life was in danger, was then put in a taxi and sent to the Cork hospital. When he got there, he was told by the hospital staff that had he spent any more in Waterford hospital he would no longer be with us.

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