Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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960. To ask the Minister for Health the cardiology services available at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, County Galway. [16670/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Inpatient and outpatient cardiology services are available at Portiuncula University Hospital. These are led by a Consultant Cardiologist who is shared with University Hospital Galway (0.75 WTE in Portiuncula).

An integrated hospital/primary care heart failure nursing service is in place and a Cardiac Rehabilitation service is available in the hospital. A number of cardiac diagnostics are available including Echo, Holter, Exercise Stress Tests and CT Coronary Angiography.

The cardiac service in Prortiuncula has received a Sláintecare Integration Fund grant of approximately €0.33m to develop community-based cardiac diagnostics (Echo & Holter), an integrated heart failure nursing service and a novel Heart Failure Virtual Clinic, where GPs can directly access Consultant Cardiologist specialist opinion. Through this initiative, community-based cardiac diagnostics are now available in four Primary Care Centres - Ballinasloe, Mountbellew, Portumna and Monksland.