Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 14 Feb 1995

Vol. 449 No. 1

Written Answers. - Cardiac Surgery Waiting List.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn

Ceist:

83 Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the national waiting list for cardiac surgery; the health board area in which each person is resident; the number of cardiac by-pass operations carried out per year on paediatric, adolescent and adult persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3295/95]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

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 University Hospital. Paediatric procedures take place at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.

The number of patients currently on the waiting list for all open heart surgery is 1,777, including 92 children. The table shows the number on the waiting list by each Health Board area. The scheduling of surgery is a matter for the clinical judgement of the consultant concerned, is based solely on the patient's condition and not on the length of time on the waiting list. Emergency cases are given priority.

Health Board Area	No. on WaitingList
Adults	Children
Eastern Health Board	737	28
South Eastern Health Board	139	10
Southern Health Board	102	14
Mid Western Health Board	86	12
Western Health Board	183	7
Midland Health Board	146	6
North Western Health Board	122	9
North Eastern Health Board	170	6
Totals	1,685	92

The number of coronary artery by-pass (CABG) procedures performed on adults in the public hospital sector is set out in the following table:

Year	Procedures
1990	653
1991	789
1992	805
1993	819
1994	950

The cardiac surgery activity carried out on children at Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin, is being compiled and will be sent to the Deputy as soon as possible. Adolescent procedures are not recorded separately. I should point out that in addition to adult coronary artery by-pass graft procedures the Mater hospital and Cork University Hospital also perform other open heart procedures.

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 throughout of open heart surgery at the hospital from 750 — 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 University 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 and 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.

Some additional resources will again be provided in 1995 to ensure that throughput in cardiac surgery in 1995 reaches the target of 1,000 open heart operations per year.

The developments at the Mater Hospital, together with the developments for cardiac surgery at Cork University 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.