Cardiac services review will be on Health Minister's desk 'in less than three weeks'

Campaigners have described it as a life or death issue as the current cath lab at UHW operates 9-5 Monday to Friday. People who suffer a heart attack are brought to Cork for urgent treatment.

Minister Stephen Donnelly told a meeting of South-East TDs the review will be on his desk "in less than three weeks", Independent Waterford TD Matt Shanahan told the Irish Examiner.

The report has been delayed by the pandemic as its author is former Nphet member Professor Philip Nolan, who was President of Maynooth University when he was appointed to oversee the analysis.

It will set out the configuration for the State's cardiac services by establishing the population in need of cardiac care at each level of the health system, from regional hospital groups to county level, and what level of additional services and capacity may be needed.

It will also look at the minimum requirements for staffing and the patient activity seen by each hospital. In the case of UHW, the ambition of campaigners is for the delivery of a 24/7 service for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), a treatment for people who need emergency treatment as a result of a heart attack.

An earlier report conducted by cardiologist Dr Niall Herity advised against a 24/7 emergency service at UHW. Mr Shanahan, who organised the meeting alongside Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan, said the minister plans to meet again with the region's TDs when the report is published.

"The services will be considered in light of the national review. At the end of the day, we have a pressing need for a 24/7 cardiac service. That needs to be delivered," he said.

Mr Shanahan, who was elected on a platform for the 24/7 cardiac care campaign in the 2020 General Election, said he is cautious of the final recommendations of the Nolan report.

"This will all have to be looked at when the report comes out but we won't consider ourselves bound by the Nolan report either. My overall position is that UHW remains the most underfunded Model 4 hospital in the country but the minister has at least said he will engage with us when it is published."

Waterford TD David Cullinane, who is Sinn Féin's health spokesman, said a recruitment campaign by the HSE campaign to extend the cath lab's opening hours to 8am-8pm is nearly complete, with 24 ancillary staff and a cardiologist set to be in place by June.

"It's a massively important report but if it isn't the news that we want then we have to reflect on that, meet the minister and HSE and build on the foundations that we have so that we can maximise the cardiac service in the South-East," he said.

A spokeswoman for the HSE said the report will be finalised soon. "Substantial progress has been made on the National Review of Specialist Cardiac Services. The Steering Group is currently completing the proposed recommendations and final consultations with a view to finalising the Report in the coming weeks."