A lobby group which brought thousands of protesters onto the streets last winter to object to any downgrade of hospitals in the South-East reacted with scepticism to yesterday’s announcements on hospital groupings.

A major reform of the country’s hospital system will be announced later today.

Campaigners in Waterford are optimistic that no services will be cut at Waterford Regional Hospital if the Higgins report into hospital reconfiguration is adopted by the Cabinet in two weeks time.

About 200 people turned out for a “pre-budget” protest in Waterford city at the weekend.

SO MUCH of the fears about the future of Waterford Regional Hospital are based on rumour and conjecture.

Health Minister James Reilly, the secretary general of the Department of Health, and the head of the HSE have assured consultants at Waterford Regional Hospital it will retain key services such as cancer care, cardiology, and trauma care.

“Enough is enough” — that was the message as more than 12,000 protesters took to the streets in Waterford against what they see as the latest attack on their city.

Two Fine Gael Oireachtas members have clashed over the future of Waterford Regional Hospital after one described it as “the worst hospital of its kind in the country”.

Plans to downgrade services at one of the country’s busiest regional hospitals have been called “reckless”.

Waiting lists for specialist treatment and surgery are about to get longer at one of the country’s largest regional hospitals.

WORK on a new emergency department and an intensive and special care baby unit for the south-east has started at Waterford Regional Hospital.

A 25-year-old man will appear in court tomorrow after a house party ended in panic with more than a dozen people hospitalised.

NURSES need to be more involved in the care of surgical patients to help reduce cancellations and speed up recovery times.

NEW restricted visiting times are being applied at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) from tomorrow, following a review of hospital arrangements.

RENEWED calls have been made for a timetable for the provision of long-awaited radiotherapy services at Waterford Regional Hospital.

VISITING restrictions have been lifted at all parts of St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny following a suspected outbreak of the vomiting bug.

WATERFORD’S new private hospital, the Whitfield Clinic, will open its doors to its first patients next week and is confident it will be able to provide radiotherapy for public patients within weeks.

DESPITE all the progress made in medical circles, far too many are still crying out for the very minimum in healthcare, a city mayor says.

THE POPULATION of the south-east is sufficient to merit having four linear accelerators, the machines which provide radiotherapy to cancer patients.

SEVEN hundred patients who may have come in contact with hepatitis B patients at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) in the past year received letters yesterday, offering them precautionary screening for the infection.

TÁNAISTE Mary Harney will be asked to clarify what exactly is the current status of the proposed radiotherapy clinic for Waterford when she is questioned on the issue in the Dáil tomorrow.

WATERFORD could have its own specialist cancer care unit within two-and-a-half years, three years ahead of schedule, a hospital boss claimed yesterday.

WATERFORD Regional Hospital’s prowess as one of the best teaching hospitals in the country has received a major boost with funding just announced for a new €4.6 million education unit.

Almost 20 planned operations were cancelled at one of the country’s main hospitals today after a strike by security workers disrupted health services.

Services at one of the main hospitals in the south of the country were disrupted today after security workers went on strike.

WATERFORD Regional Hospital’s prowess as one of the best teaching hospitals in the country has received a major boost with funding just announced for a new €4.6 million education unit.

CRITICALLY ill patients are not being seen for up to four hours in some of the country’s busiest casualty departments, latest waiting time figures show.

A 98-YEAR-OLD woman had to wait for over six hours in casualty before receiving stitches for head wounds after she slipped in a nursing home.

WATERFORD Regional Hospital needs more funding to cope with increasing numbers attending its accident and emergency department, a councillor has warned.

CANCER campaigners who have lobbied for a decade for radiotherapy services for Waterford and the south-east are today celebrating a landmark victory.

MANAGEMENT at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) say they are very open to a public private partnership (PPP) deal at the hospital which would see long-awaited radiotherapy facilities developed there.

PEOPLE power has won out in Waterford and the south east, according to campaigners for radiotherapy at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH).

THE MEDIC behind a new private hospital with radiotherapy facilities in Waterford has said that any public private partnership deal at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) would impact on his proposed service.

TÁNAISTE and Health Minister Mary Harney is expected to confirm next week that a public private partnership deal to provide radiotherapy is to get the green light at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH).

THE pressure on government to deliver radiotherapy for Waterford and the South-East will step up a gear with a major rally in support of cancer services scheduled for Waterford within the next fortnight.

FIANNA FÁIL is coming under intense pressure in Waterford to provide radiotherapy at the local Regional Hospital.

CANCER sufferers in the south-east could have full treatment services in one base in the region within two years.

TWO hundred and fifty jobs are to be created in Waterford from June of next year in a new private hospital which will offer cutting-edge public and private healthcare for the region.

CANCER campaigners from across the South-East will be demanding a definitive answer from the Government on public radiotherapy for the region when they march on the Dáil this week.

THE Government is breaking its own guidelines for the safe provision of chemotherapy by failing to provide dedicated cancer wards at hospitals.

DOCTORS developing a new private hospital in Waterford say their facility is ideal for radiotherapy services for public and private patients in the region.

Neans McSweeney

AN apple a day may keep the doctor away, but when it comes to eye-related problems, vegetables seem to have the edge on fruit.