Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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48. To ask the Minister for Health the action he will take to cease the downgrading of emergency services at University Hospital Waterford consequent on the lack of 24-7 emergency cath lab facilities and the contingent transfer of patients to Cork and Dublin; if he will cease the ad hoc regional service planning between his Department, the HSE and hospital groups and ensure that local communities served have the final say in the provision of services in their areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4621/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There has been no downgrading of emergency services at University Hospital Waterford (UHW).

In relation to the issue of 24/7 primary PCI services at UHW, as the Deputy will be aware, an independent report undertaken by Dr Niall Herity recommended that the provision of such services at UHW should cease, in order to allow the hospital to focus on the much larger volume of planned cath lab work. However, as I have made clear, before any changes are made to how a service is delivered, I want to establish how services are improved for the patients using that service. Therefore, the implications of ceasing primary PCI services at UHW will be addressed by undertaking a national review of all primary PCI services with the aim to ensure that as many patients as possible have access on a 24/7 basis to safe and sustainable emergency interventions following a heart attack. The review is expected to be completed by the end of July 2017.

I should also mention that while Dr Herity found that the needs of the effective catchment population of UHW can be accommodated in a single cath lab, he recommended increased investment in cardiology services at the hospital. I am therefore pleased to confirm that an additional €5m funding has been provided to UHW in 2017 which will enable the hospital to provide 2 additional cath lab sessions (8 hours) per week. The UHW cath lab will now be funded to provide 12 sessions i.e. 48 hours activity per week.

Finally, the Deputy may wish to note that I have recently written to the HSE Director General requesting that consideration be given to a targeted Cardiology Waiting List initiative. Such an initiative would, I envisage, incorporate a range of measures including the sharing of facilities and resources within and between Hospital Groups, the use of any appropriate facilities in the private hospital sector, as well as the deployment of a mobile cath lab. I look forward to receiving the Director General's proposals in this regard.