Donegal Sinn Féin TD, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has given the news that angiography services will continue at Letterkenny University Hospital a guarded welcome, but he has stated that the overall cardiac services at the hospital are still under threat and awaiting the outcome of the National Review of Specialist Cardiac Services due to be published in the months ahead.
Deputy Mac Lochlainn said:“The decision to withdraw angiography services at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) was a disgraceful one and I welcome the confirmation that the service has been restored for now at today’s meeting with the CEO of the Saolta Hospital Group, Tony Canavan and the Manager of LUH, Sean Murphy.
“However, this is only a temporary decision and they stated that this is all subject to the outcome of the National Review of Specialist Cardiac Services due to be published in the months ahead.”
“The truth is that our cardiac services at LUH are still under threat. I repeated my call at the meeting for the Saolta Hospital Group and the HSE to actively seek to deliver cross border specialist cardiac services at LUH for the people of the North West cross border region of Donegal, Derry, and West Tyrone in the same way that the North West Cancer Centre based in Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry serves the entire region.”
He said the government needs to actively pursue an ambitious plan for cardiac services at other health serices in LUH – the sixth largest hospital in the State.
“The government needs to actively pursue this and not allow our vital services to be sent away, time after to time to Galway and Dublin with all the distress and huge cost that this causes to patients and their families in Donegal.”
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