Paul Reid, outgoing CEO of the HSE, is set to be in Waterford today to officially announce the new cardiac care hours.

The new hours will be 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday and will be in effect from today.

The HSE is in the process of recruiting 24 more staff in the hopes to have 24 hour cardiac care soon.

Maria asked Paul whether there will be a 24/7 cardiologist on call fro9m today - but Paul says there is not.

The two discuss the arrangements that will be in place, with Maria pushing for answers on 24/7 cardiac care.

They then moved on to Paul's own career, as he is stepping down as CEO.

He discussed the pandemic and the cyberattack, but Paul says all he wants to do is thank the staff around the country.

Paul has worked in the private sector for over 30 years and says he has never seen a reform like the one he saw in the last few years.

He said the pandemic forced the health system to find different ways t0 work and he discussed the ways in which this was done.

Paul commended the work University Hospital Waterford has done. The hospital is the most improved Model 4 hospital and the only one who hasn't had trolleys since March of this year.

To listen to the full conversation,. click the link in this podcast.

For more Deise podcasts, click here.