Patients across the South East requiring emergency treatment for heart attacks will now be able to access 24/7 specialist cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford.
The long awaited round-the-clock service comes into operation at 8am this morning.
The hospital’s emergency cardiac care and coronary intervention service, which has been operating from eight in the morning until eight at night since March this year, is being expanded from today to a full 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service.
The expansion follows the opening of a second cardiac catheterisation laboratory and the recruitment of additional specialist staff.
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill says the move will improve access to life-saving treatment, reduce travel times for patients and strengthen cardiac services across the South East.
