CT unit operational a year after official ‘launch’

A CT scan unit became operational this week at University Hospital Waterford, almost a year after it was officially “launched” by the Government.

The then health minister, James Reilly, was in the hospital last May, just before the local elections, to open the CT scanner unit. It cost €1.75m and was part-funded by a €400,000 donation from the Waterford City and County Infirmary Trust.

Despite being completed in January of last year and the ribbon being cut by Mr Reilly 13 months ago, the facility has not been used since.

“The building was there and the scanner was there but it was a bit premature for him to actually open it,” a source said yesterday.

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A HSE recruitment embargo and a lack of training for the “next generation” CT machine were the reasons for the delay.

The hospital conducted more than 7,000 CT scans last year.

Independent TD John Halligan, who campaigned for the installation and staffing of the CT unit and raised the subject a number of times in the Dáil, said the resolution of the issue was welcome.

“It is unacceptable that such a vital — not to mention expensive — piece of equipment has been lying idle in a locked room at the hospital for 15 months while waiting lists continued to grow,” he said.

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