Demonstration part of ongoing campaign for 24/7 cardiac care in Waterford & South-East

January 11th: Unite Community members in Waterford will be supporting demonstration being organised this coming Saturday (January 14^th) to demand round-the-clock cardiac care for Waterford and the South-East, based in Waterford University Hospital.  Unite in the Community stressed that proposals for a mobile cathterisation laboratory should only be considered as a first step towards the provision of a permanent, round-the-clock cardiac care facility.

Commenting, Unite Regional Secretary Jimmy Kelly said:

“At present, the cardiac unity at WUH closes at 5 pm each day and on weekends, despite the fact that 800 patients face a wait of up to 18 months for cardiac procedures.

“At the same time, patients requiring procedures such as stents are to be transferred to Cork or Dublin by ambulance.  Not only does this place extra stress on vulnerable patients who will have to travel for up to two hours to access crucial services; it also puts additional pressure on an already over-stretched ambulance service”, Jimmy Kelly said.

Unite in the Community activist Tom Hogan added:

“All other major hospitals in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick have 24/7 cardiac care , and the South-East should be treated no differently.

“Any proposals for a mobile catheterisation laboratory should only be considered as a first step towards our ultimate demand, which is the provision of a permanent, round-the-clock cardiac care facility at Waterford University Hospital.

“Unite would urge all sections of the community to come out on Saturday and call on the Government to have a heart for cardiac patients in Waterford and the South-East”, Tom Hogan said.