Junior Minister John Halligan has said patients in the South East have the right to proper cardiac care especially in case of emergencies.
Mr Halligan who was speaking over the weekend said the current standards in place at Waterford Hospital are completely unacceptable and they need to be addressed immediately.
The TD’s comments come after 39 year old Thomas Power died whilst en-route to Cork University Hospital after he was unable to receive treatment at Waterford Hospital’s cath lab due to it not operating over the weekend.
Mr Halligan said: “If he had been taken in on Friday morning instead of Sunday he would have received cardiac intervention at the University Hospital Waterford.”
“There was not cath lab on and there was no cardiovascular consultant on call which meant he had to take the trip to Cork.”
“We do not know that if he had that intervention he would have survived, but he had the right to have that intervention.”
He added: “The people deserve better”.