‘Heart problems’ at the Louth Hospital
HEALTH FORUM MEMBER REVEALS CARDIAC STAFF SHORTAGE BUT HOSPITAL GROUP SAYS IT’S TEMPORARY
‘CRUCIAL cardiac services’ have been curtailed at the Louth County Hospital after a cardiology technician post became vacant, a Health Forum member has revealed. Cllr. Tomás Sharkey has hit out at the staff shortage in the cardiology service in the Louth and says the people of Dundalk deserve better.
The hospital group respon- sible for the hospital says the measure is ‘ temporary’.
Cllr. Sharkey said: ‘Firstly, the 24 hour blood pressure monitoring does not take place as an outpatient service. This is where the technician would install a blood pressure monitor for a patient one morning and take the readings from it 24 hours later.
‘ This is a vital service for patients with cardiac concerns, recording heart rhythm and investigating irregularities. It is now adding great anxiety for patients to be told they must attend Our Lady of Lourdes for this service or pay for the service with their GP.
‘In addition, echocardiograms have also been effected. These tests examine heart size as well as pump and valve functions. There is a very long waiting list for this service and as a result of the current situation the wait will get longer. Patients who have suffered a heart attack need regular echograms to ensure that pump functions have returned to normal.
‘ The people of Dundalk deserve better than this current situation. We deserve a health service that puts the very basic services in place in Louth County Hospital’.
A statement from the RCSI Hospital Group said: ‘We can confirm that the provision of cardiology diagnostics services was temporarily transferred from the Louth County to Our Lady of Lourdes, at the end of April pending the recruitment of a vacant post. The cardiology diagnostics services will be reinstated in July when a senior cardiac physiologist takes up the post. There is an echocardiogram waiting list initiative in progress in Louth Hospitals to reduce waiting times. It is envisaged that additional echocardiograms will be provided in the Louth Hospital from July.