Help me understand the 24/7 Heart Attack care report

danjo-xx · 26-09-2016 9:46pm

Health Minister Simon Harris has staunchly backed Dr Herity's findings in the Government-commissioned report that Waterford does not need a second cath lab

He repeated this on the one o'clock news today saying he is pushing on with the recommendations of the report to upgrade equipment and increase opening hours etc. Made some uncomplimentary passing remark about the march on saturday.

Professey Chin · 26-09-2016 9:53pm

danjo-xx wrote: »

He repeated this on the one o'clock news today saying he is pushing on with the recommendations of the report to upgrade equipment and increase opening hours etc. Made some uncomplimentary passing remark about the march on saturday.

Pretty much to be expected. Baby career politician. He made his mind up ages ago and that was that. If he backs down he'll lose the party fast track he's on.
I really really hate politicians. Especially career ones. Worst kind of parasites

mickmackmcgoo · 26-09-2016 9:56pm

Fine Gael people don't like marches , it makes them uncomfortable when people protest their policies and decisions, so they dismiss the protesters as the loony left etc.
This Herrity report was a complete stitch up

Jambo · 27-09-2016 8:20am

mickmackmcgoo wrote: »

This Herrity report was a complete stitch up

Has any person or any media outlet actually spoken to or interviewed Dr Herrity ? and put to him what would his report say if he had started his report with the actual risk rating and the correct population figures ?

If not could the public crowdfund a review of the original report using the correct data ?

Professey Chin · 27-09-2016 9:16am

Jambo wrote: »

Has any person or any media outlet actually spoken to or interviewed Dr Herrity ? and put to him what would his report say if he had started his report with the actual risk rating and the correct population figures ?

If not could the public crowdfund a review of the original report using the correct data ?

I'd say he's been told to keep his head down. Can't let facts get in the way of his review

FA Hayek · 27-09-2016 11:28am

Professey Chin wrote: »

Pretty much to be expected. Baby career politician. He made his mind up ages ago and that was that. If he backs down he'll lose the party fast track he's on.
I really really hate politicians. Especially career ones. Worst kind of parasites

Baby Career politician? Yes, a 29 year old career politician. lol
You just don't like politicians.

Professey Chin · 27-09-2016 11:45am

FA Hayek wrote: »

Baby Career politician? Yes, a 29 year old career politician. lol
You just don't like politicians.

I know I don't and I've said as much. Why should I like a chosen career completely based around seeing how much arse you can lick while stabbing the same person in the back?
29 is a baby in most careers and especially politics, he just has a party fast track that will be clung onto for dear life.

BBM77 · 27-09-2016 11:46am

FA Hayek wrote: »

Baby Career politician? Yes, a 29 year old career politician. lol
You just don't like politicians.

So what reason exactly do we have in Waterford to like politicians?

Professey Chin · 27-09-2016 11:51am

BBM77 wrote: »

So what reason exactly do we have to like politicians in Waterford?

Or in general tbh.

Wanderer2010 · 27-09-2016 4:32pm

Plenty of career politicians in Waterford. Deasy anyone? A ghost and a politician. Beggars belief as to why he keeps on getting on. Waster of a man.

FA Hayek · 27-09-2016 11:49pm

BBM77 wrote: »

So what reason exactly do we have in Waterford to like politicians?

Halligan is a politician is he not? To describe a 29 year old as a career politician doesn't make sense. We need younger people in the Dail and as ministers. But sure we can always go down the anti everything road.

Professey Chin · 28-09-2016 7:34am

FA Hayek wrote: »

Halligan is a politician is he not? To describe a 29 year old as a career politician doesn't make sense. We need younger people in the Dail and as ministers. But sure we can always go down the anti everything road.

And there's no reason to like Halligan either. Granted he kicked up a fuss but he done it in a completely amateur way that ensured any reasonable argument to the result could be passed off as parish pump and dismissed.
29 and his entire working life has been committees, councils and government. What would you call that if not a career politician? He has no intention of ever doing anything else.
We don't need younger people, older people, men, women, anything. We need people with a spine to make decisions and back up when they're right with proven facts or accept when they're wrong. We don't need talking heads who hide when challenged and talk for 20 minutes without answering anything but unfortunately that's all politicians are in general.

FA Hayek · 30-09-2016 2:47pm

Professey Chin wrote: »

We don't need younger people, older people, men, women, anything. We need people with a spine to make decisions and back up when they're right with proven facts or accept when they're wrong. We don't need talking heads who hide when challenged and talk for 20 minutes without answering anything but unfortunately that's all politicians are in general.

This is exactly what happened. A report was commissioned and recommendations were acted on. Not his fault that you don't like the answer to it. What you want is a report to be commissioned with the answers already selected.

So, you say you want one thing, but really you want another thing. You want good transparent governance but deep down you really want goodies for your locality.

Max Powers · 30-09-2016 3:24pm

FA Hayek wrote: »

This is exactly what happened. A report was commissioned and recommendations were acted on. Not his fault that you don't like the answer to it. What you want is a report to be commissioned with the answers already selected.

So, you say you want one thing, but really you want another thing. You want good transparent governance but deep down you really want goodies for your locality.

Wrong, you know very little to what has been happening outside of the main national headlines....what we have learned thru the briefing document issued, ratings being changed and other dodgy practices like manipulating population figures and other issues is that the report we GOT was a report commissioned with the required answer already selected.

FA Hayek · 30-09-2016 3:32pm

Max Powers wrote: »

Wrong, you know very little to what has been happening outside of the main national headlines....what we have learned thru the briefing document issued, ratings being changed and other dodgy practices like manipulating population figures and other issues is that the report we GOT was a report commissioned with the required answer already selected.

Tinfoil hat stuff here. Basically, it gives you the excuse that any report commissioned if it was God himself that commissioned it would not have been acceptable, unless you got the conclusion would wanted.

It is also an accusation that the Dr. behind the report is corrupt. Strong allegations there. If you have proof, I suggest you go to the media about it.

mickmackmcgoo · 30-09-2016 3:43pm

FA Hayek wrote:

Tinfoil hat stuff here. Basically, it gives you the excuse that any report commissioned if it was God himself that commissioned it would not have been acceptable, unless you got the conclusion would wanted.

Your knowledge of all this is completely based on herritys report and the media . Do you believe everything you read in the media. You can choose to believe the spin if you want but the terms of reference of the report were flawed and ratings were changed due to interference from vested interests who want to protect their own funding and numbers. UHW has a population catchment of over 500,000 for cancer care but not for the cath lab. It's the usual Irish stroke politics .

Professey Chin · 30-09-2016 7:00pm

FA Hayek wrote: »

This is exactly what happened. A report was commissioned and recommendations were acted on. Not his fault that you don't like the answer to it. What you want is a report to be commissioned with the answers already selected.

So, you say you want one thing, but really you want another thing. You want good transparent governance but deep down you really want goodies for your locality.

Simple way to prove me wrong. Report issued, concerns raised. Show me the evidence that shows the concerns are invalid? If it's that simple it shouldn't be an issue but instead there's silence.

Max Powers · 30-09-2016 7:52pm

FA Hayek wrote: »

Tinfoil hat stuff here. Basically, it gives you the excuse that any report commissioned if it was God himself that commissioned it would not have been acceptable, unless you got the conclusion would wanted.

It is also an accusation that the Dr. behind the report is corrupt. Strong allegations there. If you have proof, I suggest you go to the media about it.

That's a sad excuse for a reply,i gave a few reasons why the report is dodgy, these aren't theories, they're all facts.frankly,I find it depressing that our fellow citizens comment like we here are a bunch of backwater chancers looking for something ridiculous, plus they know zip about what has been and is going on in UHW and the SE apart from the small amount poor reporting they see in national media.

BBM77 · 30-09-2016 10:12pm

FA Hayek wrote: »

This is exactly what happened. A report was commissioned and recommendations were acted on. Not his fault that you don't like the answer to it. What you want is a report to be commissioned with the answers already selected.

So, you say you want one thing, but really you want another thing. You want good transparent governance but deep down you really want goodies for your locality.

If everything is as above board as you claim explain why did two regions get 24 hr cardiac care without a medical review and maintained them when cuts were being made again without a medical review in spite of the fact that the south east has a larger population than them both.

http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/rpp/regionalpopulationprojections2016-2031/

This is an example of the proven facts of this matter. If you think what is happening is “good transparent governance” you are an idiot.

robtri · 30-09-2016 10:38pm

BBM77 wrote: »

If everything is as above board as you claim explain why did two regions get 24 hr cardiac care without a medical review and maintained them when cuts were being made again without a medical review in spite of the fact that the south east has a larger population than them both.

http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/rpp/regionalpopulationprojections2016-2031/

This is an example of the proven facts of this matter. If you think what is happening is “good transparent governance” you are an idiot.

Our population as a whole is not in question...

the report is based on people being with 90 mins for a 24 hr Cat lab...
with Cork and Dublin taking a lot of people within their 90min catchment area , it brings the population baseline numbers in the report down completely

Chiparus · 01-10-2016 12:46am

robtri wrote: »

Our population as a whole is not in question...

the report is based on people being with 90 mins for a 24 hr Cat lab...
with Cork and Dublin taking a lot of people within their 90min catchment area , it brings the population baseline numbers in the report down completely

The people in north Kilkenny maybe within 90 minutes of a cath lab in Dublin, but there is no way they will be within 90 minutes if brought to st Lukes . It is actually a very bad report as it says that kilkenny and waterford are within 90 minutes travel of cath labs in Dublin and Cork , but the time to load and unload a patient will mean no one who is diagnosed in Kilkenny waterford or wexford will get primary cardiac catherisation with in 90 minutes.

There is a difference between 90 mins travel time and 90 minuted to cardiac catherisation, No recommendation from the cardiac authorities mention a 90 minute travel time as being the upper limit.

Dunmoreroader · 02-10-2016 12:18pm

Interesting take on our woes in the Sunday Independent magazine. Dr Gueret's analysis is good but his conclusion misses the point about Ardkeen/WRH/UHW being the Regional hospital for Wexford too.

O Riain · 03-10-2016 6:54am

http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/health/18-had-heart-attacks-on-waterford-waiting-list-35098141.html

More news to digest today.

JMT2016 · 07-10-2016 9:55pm

Two more exceptional articles on the continuing struggle for equal access to emergency healthcare.
First in the Irish Times by Dr. Owens - exceptional article
http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/why-waterford-needs-a-second-cath-lab-1.2798584
These paragraphs are particularly good...

[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]Cath labs are unequally spread across the country. Some areas have a great many cath labs (Dublin has 20, at last count), others have sparse provision indeed; the South East region has one single cath lab offering to service half a million people.[/font]
[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]Such is the backdrop to the current crisis in cardiac care in the southeast of Ireland.[/font]
[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]Wait times for inpatients have ballooned, and inpatient treatment times are frequently in excess of a week, for procedures which international best practice identify as being ideally treated within 24 hours of presentation.[/font]
[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]Fundamental to the recommendations in the report is the calculation of the effective population who would use the cath lab in the South East. This gave a value of approximately 290,000. This was calculated by counting the numbers of patients actively treated in the unit in an index year (2015). But it is a nonsense to say the effective catchment of a service can be calculated in such a way for a service running at (and frequently beyond) full capacity. You can t just count the number of people in Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day and say that that is the total number of people who actually want to be there. It simply counts the number who were lucky enough to get a seat, and ignores those who went elsewhere because they couldn t get in. [/font]
[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]So it is with the Herity report and its calculation of population for the South East cath lab service, which returned a significant underestimate of population size by confusing constrained resource with low activity. [/font]

[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]Second, in the Irish Medical Times, calling out the eyebrow raising reaction of some who really should know better acting as if life-saving emergency care is a luxury not a fundamental right and also noting that[/font]

[font=Arial, Tahoma, Verdana]Finally, it seems the throughput numbers demanded of the Waterford cath lab are not being met in two Dublin centres. Yet these facilities were somehow deemed to be outside the terms of reference of the report and therefore not included in any comparison. Does no one else find that strange?[/font]
[font=Arial, Tahoma, Verdana]In conclusion, we should reflect upon this. The South East is not some remote desert community deep in the Australian outback. The people who live there deserve the same standard of care when it comes to heart disease as those residing in our nation s capital. In my view, they are truly fortunate to have politicians and clinicians willing to fight for their rights in the face of overwhelming odds. [/font]

[font=Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif]http://www.imt.ie/opinion/ruairi-hanley/2016/10/standing-up-for-the-south-east.html[/font]

JMT2016 · 07-10-2016 10:07pm

The Waterford News and Star this week had the reaction of regional TDs to the campaign for healthcare equality

Here are some quotes

John Paul Phelan FG (Carlow-Kilkenny) "I believe that 24/7 care for cardiac patients in the south east is essential and it should be fought for tooth and nail".

Bobby Alyward FF (Carlow-Kilkenny) "I'm not happy with the Herity Report... I hear a lot about how important this issue is from constituents, particularly in South Kilkenny"

John McGuinness FF (Carlow-Kilkenny) "Simon Harris needs to ask those who know best i.e. the consultants on the ground/at the coal face"

James Browne FF (Wexford) "At the end of the day we want as many lives to be saved as possible"

Paul Kehoe FG (Wexford) "I would like to the see productivity at the existing hospital maximised and upped and then we could review that in a year and then, prehaps, question the findings of the report."

Brendan Howlin Lab (Wexford) "I favour the best possible cardiac services in the South-East and this must include 24-hour cardiac diagnostic and surgical capabity in UHW. I believe that will require a second cath lab to be provided and that the Minister for Health, Simon Harris should act accordingly".

The call for equal access to emergency healthcare isn't going away - the next protest is already being planned at the South East Patient Advocacy Group (SEPAG) Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/609909642491552/?fref=ts

Max Powers · 09-10-2016 7:06pm

Caught end of radio one news there, seems like yet more people acting behind scenes to undermine UHW

JMT2016 · 09-10-2016 7:23pm

Max Powers wrote: »

Caught end of radio one news there, seems like yet more people acting behind scenes to undermine UHW

http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1009/822638-university-hospital-waterford/

Yes it was on the six-one news as well - south east 24/7 heart attack care "not a top investment priority" according to the briefing.

Well what is a "top investment priority" then?

According to CUH General Manager here, Tony McNamara “The HSE has identified the requirement to re-establish an on-site helipad [at CUH] as a priority for the hospital and the region it serves”

And the region the South-South West Group serves isn't the South East!!

€2m reinforced concrete for helicopters already landing 5 minutes away from CUH is more of a priority than a 24/7 life saving €2m heart attack laboratory to serve a whole region folks.

Obviously both are a good idea but there is a more pressing critical need where most of the South East is over 1.5 hours away from a hospital providing adequate heart attack care.

The heart attack care is supposed to be delivered within 1.5 hours - we can't even get to the hospital front door in that time

Max Powers · 09-10-2016 8:17pm

At this stage, second cath lab not enough long term, there needs to be a SE region grouping reflecting the 500k people UHW covers.anything else and we will be here again soon when cork and others decide to undermine/strip our claim for resources so they can steal them.

shinzon · 10-10-2016 10:06am

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet

http://www.thejournal.ie/waterford-hospital-cath-lab-government-note-3017659-Oct2016/

A DEPARTMENT OF Health briefing note for a review into the provision of a second cardiac laboratory at University Hospital Waterford states it was “not a top investment priority”.

Shin

Max Powers · 10-10-2016 12:03pm

shinzon wrote: »

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet

http://www.thejournal.ie/waterford-hospital-cath-lab-government-note-3017659-Oct2016/

Shin

Was mentioned last night by jmt and myself

debok · 28-10-2016 11:09am

Good to see any money available is going to good cause anyway in mayo.;!

http://www.thejournal.ie/mary-robinson-library-3050924-Oct2016/

danjo-xx · 28-10-2016 6:41pm

Bit off topic but just announced 12 bed closures due to staff shortages.

JMT2016 · 31-10-2016 11:51am

Dunmoreroader wrote: »

Interesting take on our woes in the Sunday Independent magazine. Dr Gueret's analysis is good but his conclusion misses the point about Ardkeen/WRH/UHW being the Regional hospital for Wexford too.

The south east cardiac care campaign featured again in Dr Gueret's Sunday Independent column:

An entertaining and controversial piece - but does it get to the crux of the matter?

"I am in trouble on my next trip to Waterford for daring to suggest that its politicians are not up to the mark, and that the county needs improved fertility services to rise its population. My flippant remarks followed the recent Herity report that advised against a second heart laboratory to keep local arteries open through the night. My letters tray brims with indignation. One city dweller wrote to tell me that I was being unduly harsh. "Mossy boy," he wrote, "were we to go chasing fertility services, as you helpfully suggest, we would, in all likelihood, by told to go **** ourselves."

There is a palpable sense of local injustice since the Independent Alliance were led up the garden path. The real story here lies deep in rivalry between Waterford University Hospital and neighbouring St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny. Kilkenny sends many heart patients to St. James's in Dublin rather than Waterford, and this lies at the crux of the issue about whether Waterford rightfully has a regional population of half a million people, or a lot less.

Kilkenny is only a county hospital. Waterford is supposed to be the regional one, but local Fine Gael politics mitigates against it. Within days of the decision against them, Health Minister Simon Harris was down in neighbouring Kilkenny singing the praises of its local hospital. He was in the company of the party's TD for Carlow/Kilkenny, a man born and educated in Waterford.

This row has the potential to be a heartbreaker, and will run and run. Until it's decided how safe it is to keep critically ill patients waiting until morning, or rushing around backroads in the back of ambulances."

JMT2016 · 01-11-2016 11:26pm

Good to see even more coverage of the South East cardiac care campaign, this time in the Waterford News & Star.

First time I have seen comments from Dr. Michael Conway, consultant cardiologist at St. Luke's Kilkenny and this week there is an interview with him. If only he and consultants from Clonmel and Wexford had been asked for their input into the Herity report. It mightn't have resulted in 74% of Kilkenny and 94% of Carlow being omitted from the population of the South East!

Anyway the article says

"Dr. Conway said that he was personally "very keen" to support UHW but that "unfortunately things have arisen and Kilkenny and Waterford are not more in tow as a result of the Higgins Report".

"Overall, the design of the Higgins Report makes things impractical between St. Luke's and UHW. We would love to have more services available locally but it's quite complex. As as result of the hospital groupings, Cork are in the picture with Waterford and we don't have anything to do with Cork. I personally cannot do much. The interaction should be better and I'm sure it will be better in time. I would be able to work in terms of Kilkenny sending patients to Waterford but it's not for me to judge. The answers are not easy."

Every Wednesday University Hospital Waterford's Cath Lab is set aside for referrals from St. Luke's. However, instead of travelling to Waterford to carry out procedures like angiograms and putting in stents, Dr. Conway travels to St. James's, a referral practice that pre-dates UHW's Cath Lab. Consultants cardiologists in Wexford and South Tipperary both take up their weekly option in University Hospital Waterford.

Dr Conway reiterated that he would be interested in keeping services more local and aid he will discuss the possibility of doing more screening in Waterford and using UHW's services to start to do angiograms in the Cath Lab.

It is great to hear from the people actually involved "on the ground" - I think it goes a long way to explaining what is happening and how outcomes for south east heart attack patients can be improved.

TheQuietFella · 03-11-2016 9:16pm

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pensioner-died-on-trolley-in-busy-ae-10-hours-after-being-admitted-with-chest-pains-35185723.html

Just on the Indo' It's not just Waterford that is being affected.

Country has gone to pot!! If ANYONE in this county has got the balls then I urge them to take a stand against
the political system and lead the revolution by voting AGAINST the current parties in Government in any up
and coming elections.

robtri · 03-11-2016 9:39pm

TheQuietFella wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pensioner-died-on-trolley-in-busy-ae-10-hours-after-being-admitted-with-chest-pains-35185723.html

Just on the Indo' It's not just Waterford that is being affected.

Country has gone to pot!! If ANYONE in this county has got the balls then I urge them to take a stand against
the political system and lead the revolution by voting AGAINST the current parties in Government in any up
and coming elections.

and who do we vote in ??

as you have ruled out

FF
FG
SF
Lab
SD
Ind
PBP
AAA
Renua
i am sure i missing one or two others...

gctest50 · 03-11-2016 9:56pm

TheQuietFella wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pensioner-died-on-trolley-in-busy-ae-10-hours-after-being-admitted-with-chest-pains-35185723.html

Just on the Indo' It's not just Waterford that is being affected.

Country has gone to pot!! If ANYONE in this county has got the balls then I urge them to take a stand against
the political system and lead the revolution by voting AGAINST the current parties in Government in any up
and coming elections.

And the other parties will magically make PEA detectable ?

"There is no technology that can monitor for a PEA arrest,"

Doomed anyway :

.............. 79, coronary heart disease and a thrombosis against a background of lung and renal problems

JMT2016 · 05-11-2016 11:46am

JMT2016 wrote: »

First time I have seen comments from Dr. Michael Conway, consultant cardiologist at St. Luke's Kilkenny and this week there is an interview with him.

I think the comments of Dr. Conway are very important because, since the Herity report, it is being constantly said that 24/7 heart attack care should not be provided for medical reasons.

Now we have all of the cardiologists in the south east saying that they think that these services should be available "locally", these are the medical experts on the ground, most of whom were not asked for their input into the Herity report.

Also, removing the population of Kilkenny and Carlow was the main reason in the Herity report to say that there wasn't enough demand for the service. We now know that there is a dedicated afternoon in the existing Cath lab for Kilkenny and Carlow patients and from Dr. Conway's comments we also know that this is not used for bureaucratic reasons not medical reasons. You could paraphrase Dr. Conway saying "I'm very keen to support WRH...but won't be..." but it's not because he thinks it's in the best clinical interests of patients it's clearly because of bureaucratic barriers caused by the Higgins report amongst other things.

Simon Harris says he won't do anything not "clinically recommended" - the clinicians do recommend it - but the bureaucrats don't!

And the Herity report is a report for bureaucrats! Why didn't the report mention the existing facility for Kilkenny & Carlow patients already in place in the UHW Cath Lab? Perhaps because it would highlight bureaucratic failings and waste that result in it not being used by those patients! Talk about a report justifying the status quo!

Let's not forget there are 20 of these Cath labs already in Dublin. The South East is only looking for 2 and to provide an emergency service that works more than 40 hours a week for a region!

How could the Herity report ever "clinically recommend" 24/7 emergency heart attack healthcare if it never bothered to ask most of the clinicians across the south east who recommend it?

fricatus · 06-11-2016 11:59am

It's not online, but the Phoenix column in this week's News & Star makes for very bleak reading. I hope he's wrong, but he's usually been right on the money when it comes to the hospital. We really need transparent government and decision-making in this country.

robtri · 06-11-2016 5:41pm

fricatus wrote: »

It's not online, but the Phoenix column in this week's News & Star makes for very bleak reading. I hope he's wrong, but he's usually been right on the money when it comes to the hospital. We really need transparent government and decision-making in this country.

how much more transparent do you need it to be... it is clear as daylight the government does not consider 24 care in Waterford any sort of priority.. Our politicians have also show very transparently how little they care about it as well, especially Halligan... (Mr I will reign down hell on the government....as he rolls over lets Enda tickle his belly as he collects his pay)

I think it is very transparent by the government on their position

fricatus · 06-11-2016 7:34pm

robtri wrote: »

how much more transparent do you need it to be... it is clear as daylight the government does not consider 24 care in Waterford any sort of priority.. Our politicians have also show very transparently how little they care about it as well, especially Halligan... (Mr I will reign down hell on the government....as he rolls over lets Enda tickle his belly as he collects his pay)

I think it is very transparent by the government on their position

No, transparent government would make clear the steps and process by which the decision was arrived at. The way things are in this country, all that's obvious is the final outcome, and then all we can do is speculate about the reasons why we were shafted.

It's clearly political, because the population within 30, 60 and 90 minutes of Waterford is very similar to that of Limerick and Galway, and there was no talk of reviews or reports in either of those places. However who is working against us, and what are their reasons, are the questions that we're left wondering about.

robtri · 06-11-2016 7:48pm

fricatus wrote: »

No, transparent government would make clear the steps and process by which the decision was arrived at. The way things are in this country, all that's obvious is the final outcome, and then all we can do is speculate about the reasons why we were shafted.

they did .. its called the Herity report... the steps and process are clearly identified in it....

invara · 06-11-2016 10:07pm

JMT2016 wrote: »

Quote:
"Dr. Conway said that he was personally "very keen" to support UHW but that "unfortunately things have arisen and Kilkenny and Waterford are not more in tow as a result of the Higgins Report".

"Overall, the design of the Higgins Report makes things impractical between St. Luke's and UHW. We would love to have more services available locally but it's quite complex. As as result of the hospital groupings, Cork are in the picture with Waterford and we don't have anything to do with Cork. I personally cannot do much. The interaction should be better and I'm sure it will be better in time. I would be able to work in terms of Kilkenny sending patients to Waterford but it's not for me to judge. The answers are not easy."

Every Wednesday University Hospital Waterford's Cath Lab is set aside for referrals from St. Luke's. However, instead of travelling to Waterford to carry out procedures like angiograms and putting in stents, Dr. Conway travels to St. James's, a referral practice that pre-dates UHW's Cath Lab. Consultants cardiologists in Wexford and South Tipperary both take up their weekly option in University Hospital Waterford.

Dr Conway reiterated that he would be interested in keeping services more local and aid he will discuss the possibility of doing more screening in Waterford and using UHW's services to start to do angiograms in the Cath Lab.

Worth looking at Dr Conway's tortured language..... he makes two kinds of statements in the quotes attributed to him

First he repeats over and over again how ..... IT IS NOT MY FAULT

"unfortunately things have arisen"
"We would love to have more services available locally but it's quite complex"
"I personally cannot do much."
" it's not for me to judge. "

Second he alludes to impersonal forces over and over again (using an impersonal or omnipresent voice) when dealing with the curious situation of Kilkenny transporting its patients to Dublin and refusing to engage with Waterford

"The interaction should be better and I'm sure it will be better in time."
"The answers are not easy."
"I would be able to work in terms of Kilkenny sending patients to Waterford"

The article does not explain why he refers his patients to St Vincents.

Higgins as an excuse does not cut it for two reasons- Wexford is not in the Waterford/Cork group but they refer to Waterford; Higgins himself attended a meeting with Waterford TDs and said how upset he was that the promised Cath lab was reneged on because of the Kilkenny referral pathway.

Explicitly Dr Conway should address who is responsible for determining referral pathways if it is not him as the lead cardio consultant in St Luke's. What does he (or the other person who calls the shots) require for the referral pathway to be changed.

TheQuietFella · 14-11-2016 7:24pm

http://www.wlrfm.com/news/local/86994-waterford-consultant-resigns-as-clinical-director.html

I suppose when it boils down to this, it puts all of the local politicians to shame!

JMT2016 · 19-11-2016 11:31am

Just an update on the deteriorating situation - wait until all UHW patients will be referred to Cork....

http://www.wlrfm.com/news/local/88075-60-cardiac-patients-from-uhw-being-referred-to-cork.html

60 cardiac patients from UHW being referred to Cork

Up to 60 patients who are waiting for non emergency cardiac procedures are to be referred to Cork because University Hospital Waterford does not have the capacity to treat them.

Waterford Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane has slammed the government for its continued refusal to address capacity issues at University Hospital Waterford.

He says "Dozens of cardiology patients are being transferred to Cork because University Hospital Waterford continues to suffer from significant capacity constraints."

JMT2016 · 06-01-2017 8:33pm

New Year New Protest

WLRfm

A mobile cath lab for University Hospital Waterford falls far short of what's needed for the South East region, according to a patients' advocacy group.

Waterford Junior Minister John Halligan has indicated that a proposal for a mobile laboratory is expected to be approved by Health Minister Simon Harris.

There are currently 800 patients waiting for cardiac procedures at UHW, according to the TD.

Mr Halligan told the Examiner newspaper that the mobile unit would reduce the waiting lists in the hospital and within a year he could see the Government and the HSE being forced to accept the need for a second cath lab.

However, The South East Patients Advocacy Group says the people of the South East will not be easily 'placated' wtih temporary fixes.

A second protest march is planned for Saturday the 14th of January at 2pm.

Max Powers · 07-01-2017 11:35am

It's a possible way for govt to look like they not caving in and for us to get what we ultimately need in the region,24/7.

All we ALL can do now is do march next Saturday,14th.for third time for some of us but keep up pressure.

azimuth17 · 07-01-2017 3:47pm

I believe the HSE are currently in the process of moving hundreds of UHW waiting list (cardiology)patients to Cork. Why would they do that if Simon Harris was in favour of a mobile lab?

Johnboy1951 · 07-01-2017 4:03pm

azimuth17 wrote: »

I believe the HSE are currently in the process of moving hundreds of UHW waiting list (cardiology)patients to Cork. Why would they do that if Simon Harris was in favour of a mobile lab?

To prevent unnecessary deterioration or death of patients until the unit is in operation?

I hope the numbers are properly recorded so true figures for each region can be ascertained.

robtri · 07-01-2017 9:24pm

all I can say is Halligan..... sep 11
" I will reign hell on this Government"

also Red line issue

what a useless self serving leech.....

now they offer us a mobile Lab... a ****ing caravan!!!!

Help me understand the 24/7 Heart Attack care report

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