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

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter that I know has been close to his heart for a long time. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, who is unable to be here this morning due to a pre-arranged meeting with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. He has asked me to convey his sincere apologies.

As the Senator will know, the Minister received the report on the independent clinical review of the need for provision of a second cath lab at University Hospital Waterford, on foot of the programme for Government commitment. The report was completed by Dr. Niall Herity, a consultant cardiologist and clinical director of cardiology at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. He is a well known and highly respected cardiologist in Belfast. It is a comprehensive report that reflects the fact that Dr. Herity consulted widely and met all of the key stakeholders, including the management and staff of both University Hospital Waterford and Cork University Hospital.

Dr. Herity's calculation of the catchment population for the University Hospital Waterford's cath lab has been challenged since publication of the review. In his report, Dr. Herity quite rightly points out that it would be a mistake to assume that the catchment area of University Hospital Waterford is represented by every resident in Waterford and its surrounding counties. Dr. Herity therefore determined the effective catchment population by looking at regional patient flow data and combining this with 2016 census data in terms of the population of Waterford and surrounding counties.

Dr. Herity has provided robust evidence that a second cardiac cath lab at University Hospital Waterford is not justified. However, he recommends increasing the number of weekly sessions currently provided, along with the requisite additional staffing for the increase in sessions, in order to address waiting times and to provide improved access. He also recommends that new specialist equipment be provided to improve contingency for radiological equipment failure during a procedure. The Minister is happy to provide the additional resources necessary to implement these recommendations and, as such, significantly improve services for patients at University Hospital Waterford. This investment will be reflected in the HSE's national service plan for 2017. During this period of investment and enhancement of services, the situation will be closely monitored. A further independent clinical review will be carried out in early 2017 to assess the impact that these improvements have had on the volume of patients attending the cath lab in University Hospital Waterford.

Dr. Herity has recommended that University Hospital Waterford's cath lab should operate as an elective lab that provides all specialised cardiac services except interventional treatment for patients who are having heart attacks. Dr. Herity has also recommended that the current nine to five provision of these services should cease to allow the hospital to focus on the much larger volume of planned cath lab work.

Senators will understand that the Minister must be certain that any change to how a service is delivered will result in improved services for the patients using the service. Therefore, he has asked the Department to address the implications of this recommendation by undertaking a national review of all primary percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI, services with the aim of ensuring that as many patients as possible have access, on a 24-7 basis, to safe and sustainable emergency interventions following a heart attack. It is expected that this review will be completed by the end of July 2017.

The Minister intends to visit University Hospital Waterford in the coming weeks. He will take the opportunity to speak with staff and management on a broad range of issues.