Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House again today. It is always nice to see him. He has had a great interest in health over a number of years. My Commencement matter is the need for the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to provide an update on plans for a fixed catheterisation laboratory, cath lab, at Sligo University Hospital. For many years, my colleague, Deputy McLoughlin, has campaigned strongly for such a lab. This facility is vital. It provides a diagnostic service for patients with suspected heart disease or heart attacks. The hospital is currently served by a mobile cath lab, which provides services one day a week for elective procedures only.

There are also a number of cath labs in Galway that serve acute cardiac cases for Sligo and the north-west region. I understand that, in addition to the numbers treated in Sligo University Hospital, the hospital refers approximately 300 patients each year to St James' Hospital and the Mater Private Hospital. There is, however, now a compelling need for a permanent cath lab in Sligo. There is a critical 90-minute window in the event of someone having a heart attack. For those living in Sligo and the north west, this is a major challenge.

Accessing the timely care needed has been hindered by geography and the road infrastructure but more importantly, the lack of access to life-saving cardiac services. It takes at least two hours to travel from Sligo to Dublin by ambulance and a similar length of time to travel to Galway. There is an air ambulance which can get a patient to Galway or Dublin quickly but it may not always be available. It is clear to me that those living in Sligo, Leitrim, north Roscommon, south Donegal and west Cavan deserve a fixed cath lab. Cardiac patients will otherwise continue to be challenged by having to travel long journeys to receive the care they need.

There has been some progress on the issue of a cath lab at Sligo but it is extremely slow. A business case for a fixed facility has been submitted nationally and I understand this might not be advanced until the national review of cardiac services is completed. The Minister of State might shed some light on this and when this review is likely to be completed. I have to ask a question which has been posed many times. Why should cardiac patients in the north west be forced to go on long journeys to Galway or Dublin? What benefits can there be in this for a heart attack patient in this region? I must also highlight a clear cost element. In the past 15 years, I understand that the Health Service Executive, HSE, has spent €10.5 million transferring 550 cardiology patients each year from Sligo to Galway or Dublin. In addition, €3.6 million has been spent over this period renting a temporary visiting lab in Sligo. Why can the HSE not invest the money in the provision of a fixed cath lab?