Donegal Deputy Charles Ward has joined an Oireachtas group which is backing calls for a new national cardiovascular disease health policy.
The Oireachtas Heart and Soul Group was set up by the Irish Heart Foundation to encourage TDs and senators to advocate for better services.
The IHF says 10,000 people die each year as a result of cardiovascular disease, while in Donegal alone, 19,000 people are living with it.
Deputy Ward says in the absence of a policy framework for the prevention, detection, and treatment of CVD, people are effectively being abandoned.
He says the time for excuses is now over:
