24/7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford on track for end of June

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has confirmed that provisions are being put in place for 24/7 cardiac care to be stood up at University Hospital Waterford by the end of June 2026.

An additional €611,000 was provided last year by Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD for the recruitment of additional staff to commence the further expansion of cardiac services at UHW.

Minister Cummins has continued to engage with Minister Carroll MacNeill and hospital management on the matter in recent months.

“Minister Carroll MacNeill last year provided funding which commenced the recruitment campaign for additional interventional cardiologists. It is my understanding that three people have since successfully come through that interview process, two of those will replace two of the existing locum posts that have been in place. An additional post has also been sanctioned which will bring the compliment to six interventional cardiologists”, Minister Cummins confirmed.

The sixth post will be taken up in June, allowing the service to make the transition to 24/7 cardiac care.

“There are a number of other moving parts in relation to other ancillary staff that are being worked on at present – but everyone is working towards that timeline. It was a definitive decision that my Fine Gael colleague Minister Carroll MacNeill made last year that UHW would move to a 24/7 service – it was always then just a case of getting the required staffing in place. University Hospital Waterford moved to an 8am to an 8pm service 7 days a week last year and there were 140 STEMI patients treated last year. It would be expected that when we move to 24/7 that UHW could see an additional 60-80 STEMI patients.”

Minister Cummins also noted that a move to 24/7 cardiac care may happen sooner should certain conditions align.

“If it can be quicker, it will be quicker. It may be possible to move to 24/7 cardiac care before the sixth post is filled with the agreement of associated staff. The 24/7 roster may potentially be stood up by existing staff in the knowledge that the additional post will be filled, but that is a matter that hospital management will have to work through with the relevant staff and the Regional Health Office. It’s very significant that the recruitment process has taken place and everyone is pushing to get the service stood up on a 24/7 basis. The desire from all involved is to get there as quickly as possible as this is a vital service for Waterford and the entire South-East region.”