Waterford lobby group to go ahead with cath lab protest, despite 'cynical' Govt announcement

A Waterford lobby group says proposals to bring a mobile cath lab to the county are not good enough.

The South East Patient Advocacy Group says it is not opposed to the mobile lab as a temporary measure, but it is going ahead with a planned protest this afternoon, calling for a permanent cardiac care unit for the region.

Founding member Hillary O'Neill says it is desperately needed.

She said: "It's a bit of a cynical move on behalf of the Government to actually announce the day before these protests basically, what I would call a fudge.

"Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it with the waiting lists that we have at UHW for cariology is very high.

"Obviously a mobile cath lab will help to alleviate that, but it will not implement 24/7 cardiac care for the south-east region."