Seanad debates

Thursday, 8 December 2016

Commencement Matters

Hospital Waiting Lists

10:30 am

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome the enhancements that are recommended under the Herity report and University Hospital Waterford should engage in those improvements immediately, I have to say I am disappointed with the statement in the Minister of State's response that "the majority" of patients will continue to be referred from University Hospital Waterford to Cork University Hospital. The Members of this House who are from Cork will confirm that Cork University Hospital is already experiencing capacity pressures. I understand that patients are being referred to the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, which is a private hospital, but the Minister of State did not mention this in her response. The cost to taxpayers of referring patients to this hospital is far greater then the cost of providing a second mobile catheterisation laboratory in Waterford to deal with the waiting lists.

I advise the Minister of State to take into account that some decisions are being made by officials in the Department of Health. I suspect that an effort is being made within the Department to downgrade cardiac services. Many of my colleagues share my concerns in this regard. I welcome the presence in the Chamber of Senator Grace O'Sullivan in support of what I am saying. We need to act on this. I ask the Minister of State to engage with the officials in the Department of Health and to write back to me in detail in response to my questions. What would be the cost to the Department of having these patients transferred into private services? What would be the cost of providing a mobile catheterisation laboratory, which is the obvious solution the Department should consider?

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