Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE CONSULTANT CARDIOLOGIST who conducted an independent review of cardiac services at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) has said that in his opinion there is no need for a second catheterisation laboratory at the hospital.
Dr Niall Herity, a consultant based in Belfast, was tasked with conducting the independent review by Minister for Health Simon Harris.
His conclusions are at odds with Waterford TD and government minister John Halligan’s demands for the hospital, and have left Halligan’s ongoing membership of government in extreme jeopardy.
They are also at odds with the opinions of the chief clinical director at UHW Dr Rob Landers, who yesterday told RTÉ he was “shocked” by the conclusions of the review.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Herity said that he was “absolutely” happy with the terms of reference he was given regarding the review and that his work was not being tailored in any way.
“At the start of the summer I was given the terms of reference, and I was specifically asked whether there was a need for a second cath lab,” he said.
Herity explained the methodology he used to come up with a figure of 286,147 as the catchment population for the existing cath lab.
His figure is just over half the 500,000 population catchment figure expressed by Dr Landers.
“I analysed patient flows coming from those regions of counties in the southeast as to where they go for their catheterisation,” Herity said.
Some go to Cork, some go to Dublin, some go to Waterford primarily.
I analysed county by county and used the 2016 census to get the most effective estimate of catchment population in coming up with my figure.
Asked whether the fact that many catheterisation laboratories in Ireland are open 24 hours, while the existing Waterford lab is only open nine-to-five, makes any difference, Herity replied ”not at all”.
“The vast majority of work done in cath labs is pre-planned, done on a nine-to-five basis,” he said.
96% of the work done in Waterford is pre-planned, with 4% emergency work. Only a tiny amount of cath lab work is done out of hours.
Herity added that, contrary to public perception, he believes the recommendations he made in his review are “quite a substantial expansion”.
“I’ve noted that the current capacity for cath lab procedures in Waterford is not adequate, and I’m recommending that the capacity be increased by about 20%,” he said.
I didn’t conclude that there was a need for a second lab, but I did conclude that the cardiology, the funding, and the staffing at the existing lab be increased so that the capacity is 12 sessions a week rather than 10.
“I have recommended substantial investment, just not a new cardiac catheterisation laboratory,” he added.
Asked whether or not he thought a second review planned by the government for the start of 2017 was necessary, Herity said “I think that is entirely sensible”.
However, if the investment I have recommended is to be reviewed then that is for the minister to decide.
Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Simon Coveney was asked this morning about the hospital review and what it meant for Halligan’s position in government.
He said that such reviews are necessary before investment is made and urged Halligan to remain.
“I’ve always said to John, for his priorities to get them done he’s far better off being in government to see them through rather than in opposition but that’s a decision for him,” the minister said.
We want him to stay of course, we want to invest in and support Waterford Hospital and that’s what we’ll do but we can only make investment on the back of clinical reviews that recommend such investment.
- With reporting by Christina Finn
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The pension companies must be think all their Christmas have come at once with this auto enrollment scheme coming down the tracks. They can have everyone money to invest for us and of course will have no responsibility when that investment goes south. Of course it will also be a larger pot for the government to raid when they need to give the public and civil servants a much reserved pay rise. Win win or everyone except the mugs paying into the scheme.
@mickmc: You are free to choose how you private pension gets invested, these plans will be exactly the same.
@Mary Murphy: You can but the ordinary Joe soap on the street is not qualified to make that decision. That what we pay the fee to the pension companies to make. But of course that fee does not relate to how well the fund is performing.
@mickmc:
What point are u making Mick? Investments can go up and down. The fund managers spread the risk so that the return will be as close to the index return. As for selecting which fund you want you are only given a choice of the fund and not the actual investment so you are elected the index of each fund and it is clearly explained whether it is high, medium or low risk
@mickmc: In some sense I agree that the average joe is not qualified. However there is nothing stopping somebody learning…it’s all freely available information. Having said all that I think managing personal finances should be a school subject. I have self learned and now regularly get asked to help people with their finances. Some of the things I have seen are shocking regarding people’s knowledge. They are throwing away money. For example somebody was sitting on a lump sum growing at 1% while paying a mortgage of 3%. Learning basics like this is way more important than geaography
@Mary Murphy:
I completely agree with that about personal finance should taught in school. However, junior cert Business Studies is excellent and covering all of personal finance in a lot of detail (I am not a teacher, I only know from helping my kids with their homework). The problem is that this is not a mandatory subject. Maybe the personal finance part of Business Studies should be part of SPHE
@Nick Allen: Yes I agree there are definitely subjects I would kick out to make personal finance compulsory. I spent 3 years for my junior cert studying art!
@mickmc:
My wife doesn’t plan for the end of the bleeding week let alone her retirement, money goes in and money goes out.
@Gavin Redmond: women are just sh*t with money.
@Nial D: I take offense on your comment. I am a single mother (12 yrs ago) of 3 kids who chose not to get any support from my unstable ex, in exchange to my children’s stability. One finished college 10yrs ago, 1 graduating college and youngest in 9th grade. I own my own house. I have pension, social security that I pay the government and 403 from a private retirement plan. If I am at the age of retirement now, accordingly to my portfolio I will receive a total of appx $4100 monthly. You are wrong about woman.
What is conveniently forgotten is that the income and cost of living in Ireland has altered beyond recognition.
Those in their 40s and 50s have children in college, huge mortgages and less take home pay that 2004.
There simply is nothing left to put into savings of any sort not to mind retirement.
I am really concern that no one mentions that our national debt has the general working population half an inch back from the brink. This needs to be brought back into public discussion. Irish earners have it very rough. Interest rates from banks and Credit unions are shockingly high.
Hmm
Didn’t here pension mentioned once during recession. They were peddling it big time pre recession. One rule of thumb I heard at that time was a 30 yr old would need to put aside 30 %of their income over 30 yrs to generate a pension on retirement equivalent to 30% of their working wage upon retirement !
I’ll say no more
Good morning
@Eugene Walsh: By the time any 30 year old reading this hits retirement age, there’ll be no state pension in Ireland.
@Eugene Walsh: As Niall says, there isn’t a prayer of having a state pension by the time I’m of retirement age (24 now).
Chances are advances in medical technology and government policy will see me have no state pension but be able to work well into my seventies and then gradually work less and less.
@Niall Sullivan: unless they go into politics and they might have 5 or 6. Guaranteed those will be protected.
Pension plan hmmm.
Finish mortgage, sell house, get the f out of Ireland, the canaries or greece sounds good.
This country just want to screw the taxpayer.
@Trevor Hayden: This country screws the taxpayer??? So your solution is to move to Spain or Greece?
@David Hickey: Yes, buy a property for approx 80k, monthly bills approx a quarter of what we pay here.
Health service could not be any worse, good weather, what more could you ask for.
Id even considered becoming an official citizen, nothing to be proud of calling yourself “Irish”
@Trevor Hayden:
And average wage compared to Ireland?
@Nick Allen: By the time im finished my mortgage ill be 58, so hopefully whatever is left from the sale of the house will be my retirement pile.
@Trevor Hayden: South America for me
The myth of that “gender pay gap” got a mention again. It’s like thejournal is just hitting talking points with these articles.
@Mike: especially since they debunked it in their own fact check last year.
Pay public servants back a pension equal to what they contributed only and put the remainder into the general state pension payments…no retirement below 65 years and allow workers to top up themselves into their state scheme.
@winston smith: keep fire fighters, gardai etc working until 65…..not so sure how that would work out.
Reg with their experience they can train and mentor new recruits as well as act as a reserve in emergencies.
We know that women earn less and are more likely to work part time, decreasing their available income. Additionally, I suspect that women are more likely to put the needs of the family before their own future needs. This is more than speculation on my part. Research in the decision making has shown this to be accurate.
I started my pension fund this month. Always said once i finished college i would begin saving straight away and i stuck to my guns
@Shannon Cassidy: good for you and keep to it. It’s the whiners that never bothered who make the most noise about others pensions.
@Shannon Cassidy: If ffg are still in govt in 40 years Shannon don’t expect to get your money back. Its more likely to be raided by the schisters as they have done already to lots of people.
my retirment is a 1958 split screen vw camper ,i was going to say travel europe ,but maybe not .somewhere else
I don’t plan on being alive at 70
@John: “Hope I die before I get old” was released 52 years ago…What am I still here for??
what a ad for pension companies trying to get some money in before everyones broke after christmas, crashes follow every 10 years so next year a few pensions could go up in smoke as the lottery say ‘IT COULD BE YOU’ lol
good article
have your say