Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin is the national paediatric cardiac centre. I am committed to ensuring that Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children is in a position to respond to the demand for its cardiology-cardiac surgery services. It was in this context that my Department sanctioned a major theatre development at the hospital. This theatre development, when completed, will provide five new operating theatres complete with ancillary accommodation, a day surgery area and a central sterile supplies department. The existing theatre facilities will also be upgraded to provide a further two theatre suites. When these theatres are fully commissioned it is expected that the hospital will be in a position to perform an additional 100 paediatric cardiac procedures per annum, which is an increase of 40 per cent on its existing capacity.
There is no delay with the development. I am advised that it is progressing on schedule and that tenders for the development will issue in January 2001 with commencement of work on site in the spring of 2001.
With regard to the existing theatre facilities at the hospital, I am advised that one theatre is not in operation at the present time. The closure of the theatre is attributed by the hospital to nursing staff vacancies which they are endeavouring to resolve by means of a major nursing recruitment initiative abroad, mainly in the Middle East. Nothwithstanding the closure of the theatre for the reason outlined, the hospital is managing the situation and I am assured that theatre activity has not suffered significantly as a consequence of this closure.
I am aware that there has been concern over waiting times in this speciality. Some of the measures cited by the hospital as contributing to the increasing pressure on this service were the lack of theatre space and ICU beds, shortage of ICU trained nurses and advances in surgical and interventional techniques available
In December 1997 the hospital was allocated a sum of £500,00 from the cardiac waiting list initiative to implement measures aimed at reducing pressures in the most effective and appropriate manner. In 1998, 1999 and 2000 under the same initiative the hospital was allocated sums of £878,550, £679,000 and £700,000 respectively. The funding has been used for a number of measures aimed at reducing waiting times in this specialty. These include the provision of an additional four ICU beds, the implementation of a training programme for ICU nurses and the purchase of cardiac procedures from appropriate UK paediatric hospitals.