Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Once again, on behalf of the Government, I convey my sincere condolences to the family of Thomas Power on their very sad loss. As the Deputy knows, I cannot comment on individual cases. However, I stress the importance of patient confidentiality and patient privacy. The Minister for Health expects, as I do, that all proper procedures will take place with regard to the examination of the circumstances of Mr. Power's death, be it through a case review or an inquest, to find out what happened and why.

Last year, in line with the commitment in the programme for Government, an independent review of the need for a second cath lab at University Hospital Waterford was undertaken by Dr. Niall Herity, a world-renowned cardiology expert. The review concluded that the needs of the effective catchment population of University Hospital Waterford could be accommodated from a single cath lab. However, investment was recommended to enhance cardiology services at the hospital and provide an additional eight hours of activity per week to reduce waiting times and provide increased access for patients. At the time of the publication, the Minister, Deputy Harris, committed to providing the additional resources to the hospital. The HSE's national service plan of 2017 subsequently identified the implementation of the recommendations of the Herity report as a priority, and additional funding of €0.5 million was provided. An additional €0.5 million in funding was provided in 2017 to enable the hospital to provide two additional cath lab sessions per week, as per Dr. Herity's recommendations. The cath lab is now funded to provide 12 sessions, that is, 48 hours of activity per week. The HSE issued a tender, last week, for a mobile cath lab, which will contribute on an interim basis to the further reduction in elective cardiology waiting lists at the hospital. The Minister is also committed to a further review to assess the impact that these improvements have had on the volume of patients attending. This review will take place at the end of the deployment of the mobile cath lab.

With regard to emergency work at hospital, all decisions on how we configure our health services must be evidence based. Dr. Herity recommended that emergency work cease in order to allow the hospital to focus on the much larger volume of planned work and contribute to improved patient outcomes.

The organisation of primary PCI services is an issue for the whole country and it relates to how we provide services for our whole population, taking into account the best evidence available. The Minister for Health is, therefore, committed to a full national review of primary PCI services and his Department will make the arrangements for this to be undertaken based on the independent clinical expertise. This national review will, of course, include the south east of the country. It will seek to ensure that as many patients as possible can have access on a 24/7 basis to a safe and sustainable emergency intervention service following the type of heart attack in question. The review will, therefore, deal with the wider implications for all services in all parts of the country of Dr. Herity's recommendations regarding primary PCI services and come up with a plan for the achievement of the best patient outcomes possible, with clinical safety being paramount.

See this speech in context