The first open heart surgeries in the West of Ireland have been carried out at University College Hospital Galway's long awaited ultra modern cardiac surgery unit.
It was initially planned that the first cardiac patient would be operated on at the new facility at the end of January, but due to delays in recruiting staff, the first surgery did not take place until early last month. Since then, the unit's two cardiothoracic surgeons, Mr Mark de Costa and Mr Dave Veerasing, have carried out six heart surgeries.
Mr de Costa said up to 400 cardiac cases a year will be treated at the unit which he claims is one of the best in the world, along with some 150 thoracic cases.
As well as two operating theatres, the new unit comprises six ICU beds, four high dependency unit beds and 10 ward beds for pre-operative and recovering patients.
The chief executive of Croí, the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation, Neil Johnson, said the start of cardiac surgery at UCHG was a huge achievement as it was "people power" that secured the facility for Galway.
"This isn't just good news for heart patients, but also for cancer patients because it is a cardiothoracic surgery unit. It also significantly enhances cardiology services in the west as a lot of cardiology procedures are best done with surgical support," he explained.
The cardiology team can now have on-site consultations with the cardiac surgeons whereas up until now, patients had to be put on a waiting list and referred to Dublin for surgery. The aim is that patients will not have to wait any more than two months maximum for cardiac surgery at UCHG.
"We lobbied for a cardiac surgery unit in the west for 21 years and we were a voice in the wilderness for a long time," said Mr Johnson.
"There was a time when it was thought that our needs could be met by Dublin and even when it became obvious that we needed a unit west of the Shannon, there were political and inter-hospital issues but we never stopped fighting," he said.
Croí chairman Raymond J. Rooney also said his organisation had lodged a planning application to build Croí House, a residential and training structure on a site in Newcastle which Galway City Council gave it.
"Croí House, which will cost in the region of €3 million, will have residential facilities available for those whose relatives are having cardiac surgery and who will be able to be close by them during this stressful period," he said. "In addition, Croí House will have facilities to train people in CPR and all aspects of assistance in cardiac disease."
Meanwhile, construction work is set to get under way this week on a €70 million new cardiac renal unit for Cork University Hospital. The unit, which is being built at Cork University Hospital, will more than double the existing number of renal beds and will include 150 cardiac beds and 50 dialysis beds.
