This article is from page 15 of the 2012-10-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
THE so-called “Centre of Excellence” for the mid-west cannot provide treatment for a specific type of heart attack after 5pm or at week- ends. The HSE admitted that as many as 58 people a year, or an average of more than one a week, suffering from a heart attack as a result of blocked arteries must be sent on to Galway to be treated, as the service is not available in the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick outside of Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. When reconfiguration of hospitals in the mid-west was announced and the Accident and Emergency Department at Ennis General Hospital downgraded, Limerick was hailed as the centre of excellence for the whole region. It has now emerged that if Clare patients, who can no longer be treated in Ennis, arrive at the Regional Hospital in Limerick with a ST elevation MI (type of heart attack) after hours, they will be turned back and sent to Galway. A spokesperson for the HSE anticipated that Limerick will become a 24-hour Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) centre within the next few weeks, and the treatment will then be available around the clock. “Preparatory work has been in train for several months in accordance with national guidelines. The two centres for STEMI patients in the West of Ireland will be Galway University Hospital (which went live on October 1) and the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick,” he said. “Cardiology services in Limerick have expanded greatly in recent years, with a fifth cardiologist recently appointed. The hospital has a 24/7 coronary care unit and a cardiologist on call round the clock. The coronary care unit and day cardiology services will shortly be moving to a new stateof-the-art critical care block “It is important to note that a STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction) is not a case of cardiac arrest. Anyone suffering a cardiac arrest will continue to be treated 24-7-365 in the Mid Western Regional Hospital,” he said.