Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, which serves as the national referral centre for paediatric heart disease, has experienced an increase in the numbers of children awaiting cardio-thoracic surgery within the last year. This additional demand has resulted in extra pressure on the service and an increased waiting time for some patients.
The increased pressure in cardiac services has been the subject of ongoing discussions between my Department and the hospital for some time. The reasons for this increased pressure were identified as the lack of theatre space and ICU beds, shortage of ICU trained nurses and the advances in surgical and interventional techniques which have resulted in increased demand.
In April 1997 my Department invited proposals from the hospital for the spending of £500,000 to be made available from the 1997 waiting list initiative to alleviate the pressures on this specialty. Proposals submitted by the hospital were accepted by my Department and funding was provided to support them. The hospital recently forwarded a progress report on the initiative which stated that: since the appointment of a locum consultant paediatrician the hospital has experienced an increase in its cardiology out patient department's activity and in the number of echocardiograms performed the combination of both these factors will result in an additional 545 procedures being carried out in 1997; building works on four additional ICU beds commenced in July and it is expected that these works will be completed shortly, and an additional training programme for ICU nurses commenced in September and six candidates have been selected for participation.
A project team consisting of officials from my Department and hospital representatives is currenly working on a development plan for the provision of additional theatres at the hospital. I have asked that this work be concluded as a matter of urgency so that the hospital can proceed to the next stage of this very important development.
The question of additional consultant manpower is being considered in the context of the current review of the further development of cardiac services generally. I am confident that all of these initiatives will have a positive impact on the service levels of this speciality in the near future.
In relation to the case raised by the Deputy, I understand from Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin that the person in question is on the waiting list for cardiac surgery. The hospital is not in a position at present to give a date of admission and the scheduling of surgery is a matter for the clinical judgment of the consultant concerned, based solely on the patient's condition and not on the length of time on the waiting list. Emergency cases are given priority. The patient's general practitioner should, accordingly, keep the consultant informed on a regular basis of the patient's condition.
