Vol. 484 No. 4
86 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Wexford who has been on the waiting list since 5 November 1996 will be called to St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, for a serious operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22407/97]
I understand from St. James's Hospital that the person in question has been on a waiting list for cardiac surgery since November 1996. 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.
