Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. The three Waterford Deputies sitting in the House could probably have written the answer such was the cross-party collaboration since 2016 on the second cath lab.

As the Deputy will be aware, the programme for Government committed to the delivery of a second cath lab at University Hospital Waterford. Funding was allocated in the 2019 capital plan for the provision of this second cath lab. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is pleased to report that the second cath lab opened on 4 September and is operating five days per week, Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

During the lifetime of this Government, significant extra resources have been provided to increase the level of cardiology services at University Hospital Waterford. Prior to the opening of the new cath lab, a service level agreement was in place with UPMC Whitfield to provide a three day a week service to assist with cardiology diagnostic procedures at Waterford. This service has now been replaced with the opening of the new second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford.

In addition, the opening hours of the existing cath lab at University Hospital Waterford were extended in September 2022 and that cath lab is now open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. We can all definitely say that significant progress has been made. We now have two cath labs in University Hospital Waterford. The original cath lab was always the single point of failure and there were always issues around it breaking down. That has all been completely refurbished and we do not have those issues any more. The second cath lab opened on 4 September and it is very positive. It is state of the art. This is the most important thing to say.

Further cardiac service developments at the hospital will be informed by the recommendations of the national review of specialist cardiac services. The national review aims to set out the programme of reform to improve cardiac care across Ireland. This includes an assessment of trends in prevention, diagnosis, management and treatment, and data on current healthcare provision.

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