UHW is yet to receive 24/7 cardiac care, a promise delivered by the Fianna Fáil party in 2016 on the grounds of the hospital.
The opening hours of the first cath lab are currently 8 to 8, Monday to Friday with the second cath lab opening in 2023.
The current system sees both labs open at 8:00 am, with one closing at 5:00 pm and the other lab remaining open until 8:00 pm.
19.5 new posts were allocated to the cath lab in March of this year by Minister For Health Stephen Donnelly.
Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler made the announcement to WLR several months ago.
She said," I know these processes take time, and it is frustrating for us all. It's been a team effort for the last 8 years with Oireachtas members, advocacy groups, the public, and people power that has got us to this stage.
"It's another massive step forward."
Provision had been made for posts including a cardiac psychology senior post, clerical officer, clinical nurse manager, consultant cardiologist, staff nurses, consultant radiologist, and a porter.
Repeated promises
Independent TD for Waterford, Matt Shanahan described the current situation as a "repeated promise", as the people of Waterford wait for a full 24/7 cardiac service.
Speaking in the Dáil in questions for Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, he referenced a photo on the hospital grounds from 2016.
"This is a critical service, a matter of life and death for the 600,000 people in the southeast who rely on University Hospital Waterford. We've seen the tragic consequences of this unmet need through stories like that of Tom Power and Una McDermott, and the data exposed by the RTE Investigates team.
"22,000 people, Taoiseach, took to the streets of Waterford in 2013.
"As Minister for Health in 2016, you commissioned the Heritage Report, a document so riddled with errors that the word clinical was misspelled on the front page. It was hastily thrown together, deliberately misinformed, marred by dodgy and incorrect data, and is still used to shield inaction. When the flaws of that report became apparent, you still, as Health Minister in 2016, commissioned the National Review of Specialist Cardiac Care Services, led by Philip Nolan.
"Your colleague, the Tánaiste, Mícheál Martin, stood for a photo in Waterford in 2016, promising 24-7 cardiac care for the south-east, a promise that played a role in his party regaining a seat in the region.
"Standing beside him was the now junior Minister for Health, the main beneficiary of that promise.
"Last November, on WLR's Damien Tiernan Show, the Minister assured us that recruitment for a seven-day service would begin in January. In March, she had to return to assure us that recruitment would start in June. Again, she returned, and again, while nothing had happened.
"The promises are repeated, but the people of Waterford wait."
Opposition stance
Sinn Féin Health Spokesperson and Waterford TD David Cullinane questioned Minister Stephen Donnelly saying," I welcome that there are plans for additional hours of emergency services from eight to eight, seven days a week that will be provided whenever we get the staff to do that.
"The people of the South East and the people of Waterford deserve to know the answer to that question.
"In 2019 I attended a meeting with the then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, with Oireachtas members from all parties from the South East, and at that meeting, the Minister for Health committed to a national review of cardiac care. It was to specifically look at cardiac services in the South East but also wider services.
"But there is still the question mark over whether there's a commitment to full 24-7 cardiac care. The people of the South East and the people of Waterford deserve to know the answer to that question. Is that in the report? Will that be recommended?", Cullinane concluded.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly responded, saying significant progress has been made at UHW.
"We'll publish the report and let everybody look at it in the round. What I can say is the government has progressed very substantially in terms of the second cath lab at Waterford University Hospital. As you'll be aware, in September of last year, the second cath lab opened.
"That was a really important milestone. The opening hours of the first cath lab were extended the year before that from 8 to 8, Monday to Friday.
"Recruitment is in the process now for the provision of full staffing to complement the existing services, so that the opening hours of the cath lab are 8 to 8, seven days a week."
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