Vol. 449 No. 1
90 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting heart by-pass surgery at the Mater Hospital, Dublin 7; the longest waiting time for the procedure; and the plans, if any, he has to improve the position.[3348/95]
Limerick East): The number of patients currently on the waiting list for all open heart surgery at the Mater Hospital is at 13 February 1995 1,595. The scheduling of surgery is a matter for the clinical judgment of the consultant concerned, is based solely on the patient's condition and not on the length of time on the waiting list. I understand that one patient has been on the waiting list for heart by-pass surgery since March 1988. I also understand that emergency cases are given priority.
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 throughput of open heart surgery at the hospital from 750 to 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 surery 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, 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 are being provided in 1995 to the Mater Hospital to ensure that throughput in cardiac surgery in 1995 at the Hospital reaches the target of 1,000 open heart operations per year.
The development 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.
