Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to assure the Deputies present that the Minister, Deputy Harris, is not sitting in his office watching the debate. I will convey all of the points they have made to him. I wish to provide some reassurance on concerns around whether the area is being neglected.

At the end of December 2016, there were 4,623 patients on cardiology inpatient day case waiting lists nationally, of which 489 were in University Hospital Waterford. That shows that while there are challenges, University Hospital Waterford is not being singled out in any way. There has been an improvement, in that 14 patients within the cohort of the 489 have been waiting for more than 15 months compared to the November figure when 113 patients had been waiting for more than 15 months. The improvements are incremental, but they are still improvements and it is important that we acknowledge that.

We must also acknowledge the commitment of the people in the hospital to deliver on this. The figures provide evidence that 97% of patients are receiving an appointment for an inpatient day case procedure within 15 months, which is above the 2016 target of 95,000. I know there are concerns and that people are unhappy, but I wish to reassure everybody that every effort is being made bring down the figures. I also want to reassure people that the Government, the Minister, Deputy Harris and the HSE are absolutely committed to fulfil this.

On the 24-7 PCI services, the Minister for Health has made it clear that before there are any changes in how services are delivered he wants to establish how services are improved for the patients using them. The implications of ceasing the primary PCI services will be addressed by undertaking a national review of all primary PCI services, with the aim of ensuring that as many patients as possible of access to 24-7 PCI services. The review will be completed by the end of July 2017. I hope Deputies will accept our assurances that every effort is being made to provide services that people deserve.

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