Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have often raised the issue of University Hospital Waterford, which is the least funded of our model 4 hospitals and has the lowest ratio of healthcare practitioners to beds in such hospitals. I wish to discuss the stroke unit today, though. University Hospital Waterford receives more than 1,000 stroke patients every year, yet it has only five stroke unit beds and two single rooms. One in five people in our country will suffer a stroke. I ask the Taoiseach to examine this matter. Only 25% of our acute stroke patients get into the stroke unit at University Hospital Waterford and only 6% of transient ischaemic attack sufferers get in. UHW is being denied the ability to deal with acute heart attacks seven days per week and, now, is being denied the ability to deal with strokes effectively. I ask the Taoiseach to resource this service properly and consider a new capital programme for stroke as well as cardiac issues at the hospital.

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