A long term plan to facilitate the upgrade and expansion of services and infrastructure at University Hospital Waterford is unlikely to be published before December.
The Archus Consultants Report will set out details of how the HSE aim to improve existing services at UHW. The report has been complete since November of last year but it’s findings have not yet been made public.
A motion was tabled at this month’s meeting of the South East Regional Health Forum by Waterford Green Party Councillor, Jody Power, calling for “the South/South West Hospital Group to publish forthwith the findings of the UHW Archus Report that was completed last November 2021 and promised to public representatives of the South East Region within weeks by the Minister but still not available.”
Waterford Independent TD Matt Shanahan has been speaking to WLR News. He says it is widely accepted that there is a need for increased bed capacity, but this will not be approved until after the findings of the Archus Report are published.
“We have made applications from the hospital for additional beds. The department has essentially agreed that an additional 120 beds should be allocated to Waterford in future - all obviously subject to capital approval. We need an increase in critical care bed capacity. We need to increase our cardiac care units, and we also need a number of capital developments on site, which are also in a business plan which was given to UHW management by the Department. What they are saying is this is all contingent on results of the Archus Consultants Report.”
Deputy Shanahan has been engaging with the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly on the matter - he says it is unlikely that the report will be published for another few weeks at least.
“I met the Minister recently, he told me he still has no idea when the report will be fully finalised and when it will be made available to him. I know from a recent South East Health Department meeting that they are now saying it could be Christmas before this report is available. I have written to the Minister seeking an update on this and I hope to be hearing from him very shortly.”
