Liam Lawlor
Question:117 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason for the apparent gender disparity in the number of children awaiting cardiac surgery where there are 57 females and 16 males on the waiting list. [10376/99]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
As at 31 December 1998, the latest date for which recorded figures are available, the number of public patients on the paediatric cardiac surgery waiting list at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children was 73. Of these 73 patients, 57 were female and 16 were male.
I am informed by the hospital that certain cardiac conditions are more common in one gender than the other and this, together with annual fluctuations, can contribute to an apparent gender disparity. I would like to assure the Deputy that medical priority is the sole determining factor in any decision to perform paediatric cardiac surgery.