(Limerick East): Open heart surgery operations for adults, including coronary artery by-pass grafts — CABGs — are currently performed for public patients at the National Cardiac Surgery Unit in the Mater Hospital, Dublin and at Cork Regional Hospital.
My Department undertook an assessment of the medium term requirements for additional cardiac surgery facilities in 1992-93. Submissions were received from the Mater and St. James's Hospitals. It was decided in 1993 that open heart surgery facilities should be expanded at the National Cardiac Surgery Unit, at the Mater Hospital.
In 1993, a sum of £1 million from the waiting list fund was allocated to enable the necessary facilities to be put in place at the National Cardiac Surgery Unit, Mater Hospital to increase the annual through put of open heart surgery at the hospital from 750 to 1,000 — an increase of 33 per cent. In addition, in 1993 and 1994, capital funding of £2.8 million was provided to facilitate the doubling of cardiac surgery at Cork Regional Hospital from 200 to 400 patients each year.
Over 1993 and 1994, in excess of £2 million revenue and £3.5 million in capital was allocated to the Mater Hospital for cardiac surgery and related developments. The building works which were associated with this development, were completed in mid-1994, include additional cardiac maintenance beds, intensive care facilities and high dependency facilities which are required to support the cardiac surgery programme. These new facilities at the hospital have now become operational and the additional cardiac surgery activity has commenced.
The developments at the Mater Hospital, together with the developments for cardiac surgery at Cork Regional Hospital which were opened in November 1994 will have the effect of increasing the number of cardiac surgery operations performed on an annual basis in the public hospital sector by 47 per cent from 950 to 1,400.
I am satisfied that when all these additional facilities are operating at full capacity they will have a positive impact on the waiting list. The question of the provision of further additional facilities for cardiac surgery will be considered as sympathetically as possible in the context of the many competing demands for resources throughout the health services.