Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for taking a very important Commencement matter and the Minister of State for making time in her very busy schedule. Cardiac care for patients in the south east has been an issue of concern for quite some time. I have raised many times with the Minister of State and her predecessors the issue of inequality of access to cardiac care for patients in the south-east region and especially for those who reside in east County Waterford, south Kilkenny and south County Wexford. These people are not in close proximity for interventional cardiology care after hours. This is a matter of deep concern that must be addressed. Access to interventional cardiology in the event of a heart attack after hours is simply not available, which is unacceptable. The reason we do not have this access is quite clear from some recent controversies; it is because we do not have a second catheterisation lab. Dublin, Cork and Galway have numerous catheterisation labs and Limerick, a city in the west of Ireland, has numerous catheterisation labs as well. This is a matter of equality of access to health care in the country that must be addressed.

Further to this, I was deeply concerned to learn recently that University Hospital Waterford patients have been on a waiting list for over a year to access cardiac diagnostic procedures. They are now being outsourced to private hospitals in other parts of the country. I understand over 90 patients have been transferred to other hospitals for this care, which is unacceptable for patients in the south-east region. How many more are on the waiting list and are to be referred to this private service? How much is this costing the State, as I know the Minister of State is rightly concerned about the health budget? It seems we are spending far more money in referring these patients to private treatment rather than dealing with them within the public health service. University Hospital Waterford already has expert cardiologists and staff and the service must be enhanced, as recommended in the recent Herity report.

The Minister of State might be able to clarify the issue. My understanding is that the HSE at University Hospital Waterford has applied for a mobile second catheterisation lab to deal with this waiting list. It would be far more efficient in delivering a good public health service if these patients were treated in the hospital in which they are patients. I am interested in the Minister of State's response this morning and this is a matter of deep concern. As I stated before, as a Government Senator I see it as no longer acceptable that people, patients and citizens of this country are treated in an unequal way in comparison with patients in other parts of the country.