24/7 on track for end of June - Cummins
24/7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) is on track for the end of June.
This is according to Minister John Cummins TD, who said he understands that three people have successfully come through the interview process, which was announced last year following the provision of €611,000 to secure additional staff.
Two of those who have come through the process will replace two of the existing locum posts that have been in place.
“An additional post has also been sanctioned which will bring the compliment to six interventional cardiologists” Minister Cummins confirmed.
The sixth post will be taken up in June, allowing the service to make the transition to 24/7 cardiac care.
Minister Cummins added: “It was a definitive decision that my Fine Gael colleague Minister Carroll MacNeill made last year that UHW would move to a 24/7 service – it was always then just a case of getting the required staffing in place.”
“If it can be quicker, it will be quicker. It may be possible to move to 24/7 cardiac care before the sixth post is filled with the agreement of associated staff.
“The 24/7 roster may potentially be stood up by existing staff in the knowledge that the additional post will be filled, but that is a matter that hospital management will have to work through with the relevant staff and the Regional Health Office.”
The HSE were reached for further comment.
Cabinet approval for the implementation of 24/7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford was announced in April 202 by Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
The approval ringfenced €611,000 to facilitate the recruitment of additional staff to commence the expansion of cardiac services at the hospital.
A timeline of approximately six months for this recruitment process to be complete was provided to this newspaper in late June of 2025.
Further protests took place in Waterford city last week, demanding that the service be implemented as quickly as possible.
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