Multiple patients treated during first weekend of extended cardiac hours in Waterford
Members of the Southeast 24/7 Cardiac Care Campaign conducting interviews in Waterford City
During the first weekend of extended cardiac coverage in Waterford, three patients were provided with life saving intervention.
The increased hours commenced on the second last weekend of March for the first time, bringing the service from a five-day 8am to 8pm service to a seven-day 8am to 8pm service including Bank Holidays.
Those who made the milestone moment possible were hailed this week by Matt Shanahan.
The former Independent TD has been a leading figure in advancing cardiac services in the Southeast, founding the Health Equality for the South East group. He was also behind the Hand On Heart campaign.
Providing reaction to the Waterford News & Star, Mr Shanahan acknowledged the work of the hospital executive, staff and campaigners. He added that staff at University Hospital Waterford have agreed to work new rotas to provide for the increased cardiac coverage.
“Those three people came in on Sunday and three of them were treated successfully; think about the anguish that those people and their families were saved from by having that service now available in Waterford," he said.
“Great acclaim goes to the staff in UHW for agreeing to new rotas and working weekends. Everybody is pulling their weight in that hospital to a fantastic degree.
"Significant credit also goes to the consultants who went and forced a press conference outlining their clinical concerns for what the Herity Report was proposing in 2016. It has resulted now in a service where we have 50% of the week covered.
Speaking in the Seanad this week, Independent Senator Joe Conway also praised the new weekend cardiac care facility in University Hospital Waterford and all those locally who made it possible.
Continued attendance at Waterford’s cath lab during its new extended weekend hours is expected, further demonstrating the service’s vital importance to the South East.
"There are five cath labs in Cork University Hospital, and the Waterford system over the next six months will nearly challenge all of the Cork output activity with just our two labs going seven days and 12 hours a day," Mr Shanahan said.
Senator Joe Conway commented similarly, saying: “I can confidently predict that UHW's cardiac cath lab numbers, even on the seven-day rota, will increase and answer the challenges that exist. There will be no let-up in this service delivered, with a fairer allocation of healthcare to regional units. We want to push on with ensuring we have a full 24-7 service, and that people will not be put at risk at the weekend.”
The development brings back into question the widely criticised Herity report prepared by Dr Niall Herity in 2016, which concluded that there was no need for a second cath lab in Waterford.
“When the Herity report was first published in 2016, it said that the out-of-hours should continue to be brought to Cork or Dublin,” Mr Shanahan said.
“The recommendation was that the Waterford cardiac suite actually stop doing the emergency heart attack intervention and that all heart attacks would be brought as a matter of course to Dublin or Cork.
"The service has now intervened (for) three people already and has proven it can expand."
Calls for 24/7 remain, and campaigners reiterate the message that full coverage is needed.
“This is not job done, it is anything but job done. We need the 24/7. Every other region has it, and they have it for very good reason. There are no more reviews needed. We’ve proven in its first weekend what an invaluable thing it is, so now we need 100%," Mr Shanahan said.
Meanwhile, Mick Daniels of the Southeast 24/7 Cardiac Care Campaign said this week that the group’s work will continue to expand until 24/7 is delivered.
“For 12 out of every 24 hours, that cath lab remains closed and people will continue to die and people will continue to suffer permanent damage to their hearts.
"What is supposed to be a fully developed, modern country has an entire region who are denied something that is generally regarded as a basic human right throughout the western world.
"Our campaign is going very well and is going to go mainstream. We have conducted hundreds of interviews with members of the public and we have a lot of work done creating our weekly shows along with creating a TV ad."
Members of the campaign were on the streets of Waterford last week conducting interviews with concerned locals regarding 24/7 coverage.
The interview can be viewed HERE.
