Coalition commits to delivering new surgical hub in Waterford

The next Government has committed to working towards establishing six new surgical hubs across the country, including the delivery of the in-progress hub Waterford, in the draft Programme For Government (PfG) - which is not a surprise as it's already under construction at Maypark Lane in the city.

The proposed coalition Government has pledged to deliver two surgical hubs in Dublin and one each in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. The Government has also committed to exploring adding a seventh additional surgical hub for the North West, in a timely manner.

In addition to adding to the southeast's surgical capacity, the PfG states that it will work on "building on the existing National Cardiovascular Policy, we will develop a new and more ambitious plan enhancing patient care and timely access across all regions".

Waterford TD John Cummins, one of the lead negotiators for Fine Gael in the Government formation talks, said that "while not specifically referencing UHW, there is a significant nod to the further expansion of cardiac care within the Programme for Government" in the commitment given.

The draft Programme for Government was presented to the party memberships on Wednesday following an agreement between Fine Gael leader Simon Harris and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin with the support of the Independent Regional Group.

The proposed coalition Government has also promised to "further reduce waiting times, targeting all patients to be seen within the Sláintecare target of 10 and 12 weeks" as more than 350 children currently wait for care, for more than 18 months, at University Hospital Waterford.

The proposed Government has also pledged to increase national hospital capacity by between 4,000 and 4,500 new and refurbished inpatient hospital beds across the country, with 100 new ICU beds and to work to deliver more community beds.