CHILDREN WITH heart conditions are experiencing significant delays in accessing cardiology specialists due to the moratorium on recruitment in the public sector and the historic underfunding of the paediatric cardiology service in the State, it was claimed yesterday.
Dr Paul Oslizlok, a consultant paediatric cardiologist at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, said there are five paediatric cardiologists in the country but one was on maternity leave and has not been replaced due to the embargo on recruitment.
Critical support staff were also not being replaced. “Of the five paediatric cardiologists, three of us haven’t had secretaries for the last three months because of the moratorium on replacing individuals on maternity leave.”
He said this was resulting in delays in prioritising new referrals and delays in letters going out to GPs after children were seen.
Furthermore, three of the five clinical cardiology nurses “that we rely on heavily so that patients can access the service” were being redeployed to deal with the swine flu epidemic.
This week new figures showed at least two heart operations had to be cancelled at Crumlin every week between January and June.
Dr Oslizlok said anyone looking at the paediatric cardiology service would have to come to the conclusion the service has been historically under-provided for.
“It’s a very simple mathematical equation. You have 60,000 births in Ireland. You have 600 children with congenital heart disease. You will need to do somewhere in the region of 450 to 500 operations a year. That needs to be provided for. Crumlin is provided, in terms of staffing and resources, to carry out about 300/350 operations. There is a service deficit. It’s not rocket science.”
Dr Oslizlok was speaking at the publication of a pre-budget submission by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), of which he is president.
In it the IHCA calls for the health budget to rise by €980 million next year.