Over 360 Waterford angiogram patients forced elsewhere for treatment in first half of 09 - Kenneally

361 angiogram patients who were initially diagnosed in Waterford Regional Hospital eventually went on to have their treatment in other hospitals between January and June this year, according to figures obtained by local TD Brendan Kenneally. According to Deputy Kenneally this is because the hospital only operates on a three day per week basis, requiring several patients to travel to other hospitals for their treatment.

Waterford Regional Hospital has treated 408 angiogram patients in the January to July 2009 period. The cardiology services commenced in Waterford Regional Hospital in May 2008 and the hospital treated 500 patients last year, with a further 693 being treated in other hospitals during the course of the full year.

“What these figures prove is that the cardiology suite in Waterford Regional Hospital is not meeting local needs,” said Deputy Kenneally. “Clearly we need a unit that will operate on a full time basis, three days a week simply isn’t enough to meet the number of patients who require these services.”

“When I was obtaining this information I also learnt that the current unit has an annual budget of €1.3 million and the HSE estimate it would cost an additional €2.5 million per year to operate on a full time basis. While this figure seems a little excessive it does strike me that this funding could probably be saved from other parts of the health budget.

“I’m sure if we had a fully operational service in Waterford then less could be spent on meeting the demand for services in Dublin or Cork for example. It stands to reason that if fewer patients had to travel to use other hospitals then those hospitals would be able to make savings.”

“Additionally the cost of travel would not have to be covered. There are huge savings to be made if people no longer have to journey from Waterford to other hospitals. All these savings would help towards offsetting the cost of running the Waterford unit on a fulltime basis.”

“I know that there is not a great deal of money available for additional public spending at present, however this change seems like common sense to me. This is really about the allocation of funding and how it is managed, surely there is scope to balance the funding so that Waterford Regional Hospital has the money it needs to run this cardiology unit on a full time basis,” Deputy Kenneally concluded.