Croí finds 80% of public hospitals don’t offer GPs direct access to essential heart test

Local heart and stroke charity Croí has found that 80% of public hospitals do not offer GPs direct access to echo-cardiograms.

It means heart patients can be left waiting for up to a year for the essential diagnostic test through the publicly-funded health system.

Private providers can usually access the test after a month, and patients in the UK only have a six week wait, according to Croí.

Cardiac Physiologist Paul Nolan hopes more can be done to solve the issue