Sinn Féin TD Conor D. McGuinness has labelled the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil-Independent programme for government ‘a charter for failure’ for 24/7 cardiac care in UHW.
He made the comments during a Dáil debate on the new Programme for Government, which fails to mention 24/7 cardiac care in UHW, much less make any commitment.
Speaking in the Dáil McGuinness said:
“The promise of 24-7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford has gone unfulfilled over the last two Governments, despite the glaring need for such a service and the huge campaign that has galvanised opinion across the south east.
“As things stand, emergency cardiac care is not available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This level of service has been available in other regions as a given for many years.
“The attitude of the Government is clear. If you are going to have a heart attack in Waterford or the wider south east, you had better schedule it between the hours of 8 a.m to 8 p.m. This is simply not good enough.
“The current Taoiseach stood outside UHW nine years ago during an election campaign and promised that his party in government would deliver 24-7 cardiac care in UHW.
“That promise, unfulfilled during his party’s previous time in power, has now been quietly dropped as the new programme for Government contains no mention of cardiac care at UHW, let alone a commitment.
“Despite the fact that two Waterford TDs made much of their involved in negotiating the programme for Government, the document has nothing to say about 24/7. There isn’t so much as a vague reference even.
“This is a failure in anyone’s terms. Weak promises built upon policy that is already there is not good enough.
“The people of Waterford have heard the promises, the platitudes and the excuses before.
“We have waited far too long for around-the-clock 24-7 cardiac care.”
Conor D. McGuinness TD 