Thousands protest over Waterford hospital services

Details regarding the staffing levels and operating hours of a proposed mobile catheritisation lab for cardiac patients at University Hospital Waterford are expected to be confirmed in the next couple of days.

Consultants at the regional hospital and campaigners are adopting a “wait and see” approach to the mobile lab which was announced last week by independent TD and minister of state John Halligan.

Despite the announcement, more than 5,000 people marched through Waterford’s city centre on Saturday afternoon in protest at the government’s failure to allocate a second catherisation laboratory at UHW.

The event took place under the auspices of the South East Patient Advocacy Group (SEPAG) who dismissed the “mobile” cath lab option announce last week as a stop-gap measure and not a permanent solution.

Clinical director at UHW, Dr Rob Landers, said he expected the operating arrangements for the mobile lab to be given to consultants in the next day or two.

“The devil will be in the detail,” he said.

“It depends on how many days a week it will be on site, will it be staffed and will the funding be there for the running costs? It wouldn’t be beyond the HSE to put that lab in and under-fund it.”

Dr Landers said the mood was “positive and determined” to carry on the campaign for a permanent second lab following Saturday’s march.

“Coming away from it, everybody was saying ‘we’re not giving up on this, we’re going to stick at it’.”

Campaigners say that sending cardiac patients to Cork is not a safe solution as they could lose vital minutes on the journey.

“I would be confident that if that lab is left there five days a week, it would more than justify the case for a permanent second lab. Let’s see if they will put it there five days a week,” Dr Landers said.

Provision of a second cath lab at the busy hospital, which would allow 24/7 access to diagnostic equipment in Waterford for heart attack patients, has been a key tenet of John Halligan’s policy list in recent years.

However, an independent study commissioned by the Government did not call for a second facility and instead recommended some patients be sent to Cork for cath lab services.

Minister Halligan said on Friday that the agreement to provide a mobile cath lab is a “step forward” but not a permanent solution for Waterford.

The independent alliance member attended Saturday’s march, as did Fianna Fáil TD for Waterford Mary Butler, and local Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane, along with the mayor of the Waterford metropolitan area, Councillor John Hearne, and the Mayor of Co Waterford, Councillor Adam Wyse.