Cath Lab and Cardiac Care at University Hospital Waterford
Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Health if, in light of the opening of the second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford, he will outline the anticipated timeline for moving to a cardiac care service operating 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Transcript: Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh
After many years of campaigning by local campaign groups and, to be fair, due to a consistent cross-party effort by Oireachtas Members here in the Dáil and elsewhere we finally have the bricks and mortar of the second cath lab delivered on the site of University Hospital Waterford, commissioned and up and running. The people of Waterford are now asking for an expansion of the services and particularly an expansion of the hours of service. Will the Minister of State let us know what progress has been made in that regard?
Deputy Mary Butler
I thank the Deputy for the question. The three Waterford Deputies sitting in the House could probably have written the answer such was the cross-party collaboration since 2016 on the second cath lab.
As the Deputy will be aware, the programme for Government committed to the delivery of a second cath lab at University Hospital Waterford. Funding was allocated in the 2019 capital plan for the provision of this second cath lab. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is pleased to report that the second cath lab opened on 4 September and is operating five days per week, Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
During the lifetime of this Government, significant extra resources have been provided to increase the level of cardiology services at University Hospital Waterford. Prior to the opening of the new cath lab, a service level agreement was in place with UPMC Whitfield to provide a three day a week service to assist with cardiology diagnostic procedures at Waterford. This service has now been replaced with the opening of the new second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford.
In addition, the opening hours of the existing cath lab at University Hospital Waterford were extended in September 2022 and that cath lab is now open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. We can all definitely say that significant progress has been made. We now have two cath labs in University Hospital Waterford. The original cath lab was always the single point of failure and there were always issues around it breaking down. That has all been completely refurbished and we do not have those issues any more. The second cath lab opened on 4 September and it is very positive. It is state of the art. This is the most important thing to say.
Further cardiac service developments at the hospital will be informed by the recommendations of the national review of specialist cardiac services. The national review aims to set out the programme of reform to improve cardiac care across Ireland. This includes an assessment of trends in prevention, diagnosis, management and treatment, and data on current healthcare provision.
Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh
I thank the Minister of State. As she said, any of the Members here from Waterford could have written that response. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, was down with us relatively recently when he opened the state-of-the-art palliative care facility on the University Hospital Waterford site. The Minister gave a commitment then that in a short frame of time we were going to move to a seven day a week service from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Everybody in Waterford and everybody in the south east has a heart story and has the friend who just about made it within the operating hours or the person who did not. It became a mantra in Waterford among the campaigners that time is muscle, and especially when referring to the stenting service and that intervention capacity, which we thankfully now have available in both of the cath labs. It is really not acceptable in this day and age that a cardiac care patient at a weekend will have to take that journey to Cork when we know they would lose all of that functional capacity. Will the Minister of State outline what steps we need to take in order to get to that seven day service from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., which is at least a stepping stone to the 24-7 service that we all want.
Deputy Mary Butler
I will give the Deputy some more information. The HSE has confirmed there are 24 whole-time equivalents approved to support operation of the second cath lab, with 21 whole-time equivalents currently in post. The HSE has confirmed that interviews for two healthcare assistants are scheduled for 21 September, which is today, and the recruitment campaign for a senior cardiac psychologist – one of three for the second cath lab – is under way. The hospital will use a combination of day beds and recovery spaces to support the second cath lab. The medium to long-term options for recovery beds being discussed with HSE estates involve the relocation of the on-call residents at the hospital and refurbishment of this area.
The Deputy is quite right in what he said and we have all heard the Minister say it. At a recent visit to the hospital in July 2023, the Minister asked the hospital to work towards an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. service for the second cath lab at the hospital by year end 2023 and that is where the situation currently is. The onus is on all of us, me as Minister of State in the Department of Health and working with all my colleagues, that this is the next step for us to deliver it incrementally.
Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh
While none of us would think it is the cardiologists alone who are required for the staffing, they are absolutely pivotal and we know they are like hens’ teeth. We need to get those posts approved and we also need to run the recruitment campaigns for those cardiologists because without that we cannot provide the service and we cannot roster for that expanded service, which is exactly what we need. The issue of dedicated recovery beds is also pivotal. We want to be able to provide that service. We know that space across the University Hospital Waterford campus is tight. They have done an absolutely fantastic job in managing that space. We have heard all of those good news stories about management in University Hospital Waterford and particularly around the emergency department, which is worth mentioning.
We have achieved a key stepping stone in delivering this second cath lab. Let us sweat the assets, let us get it staffed and get it working. People in Waterford and across the south east deserve that seven-day service at the very least and we have to always keep driving towards that ultimate goal of providing a 24-7 service for people of the southeast.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
Before the Minister of State responds I will bring in Deputy Cullinane.
Deputy David Cullinane
I welcome the second cath lab. It is a fantastic development and real progress for cardiac services in Waterford and the south east. It was one of those issues on which all Oireachtas Members in Waterford campaigned very hard over a long number of years, and indeed colleagues who are no longer in the House. I commend everyone involved in that. It is also real progress that we will get to a point where we have a seven day a week service from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. for emergency cardiac care. That is real progress and should be acknowledged, celebrated and warmly welcomed.
I am aware of the level of additional staffing capacity that was required to make that happen but obviously the next question is whether we can transition to a full 24-7 service. I believe that the answer to this question will lie in the national review. This review has been sitting somewhere for a long time. I do not know how many times I have asked the question on it. We really need to get an update on when that review will be published. I imagine that will answer the question as to what is next for University Hospital Waterford.
Deputy Mary Butler
I agree with what both Deputies have said. I take a lot of positivity from the current situation. In order for the new cath lab to open we needed 24 whole-time equivalents and 21 are currently in place. At a time when recruitment is quite challenging across health services that is very positive. Two more healthcare assistants are being interviewed today and the recruitment campaign for the senior cardiac physiologist, one of three for the second cath lab, is under way. At a time when recruitment is challenging across all sectors that is really positive.
I do take on board the Deputies’ points but it is important to point out that University Hospital Waterford – as we all know – is a busy level 4 hospital with 2,660 staff. This is an increase of 36% since 2019. The hospital’s budget is €261 million for 2023, an increase of 30% on 2019. We have made significant progress but there is more to be done. I know we will all work together to get to the next step, which is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
