Vol. 449 No. 4
76 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Health his views on the proposal from St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, that his Department should sanction the use of the American cardiac system called Psicor which can deal with 250 patients per annum at an estimated cost per patient of £1,300, which is in contrast to the average cost for heart surgery of £8,500; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3643/95]
Limerick East): The Psicor system referred to in the Deputy's question relates to the provision of a perfusion service during a cardiac surgery procedure.Perfusion is the procedure whereby the patient's blood supply which has been diverted from the heart is kept oxygenated while surgery is being carried out. I should point out that the cost of a perfusion service is only one part of the overall costs associated with cardiac surgery.
The proposal by St. James's Hospital incorporating the Psicor system was examined in my Department in 1992/93 and a decision was taken in 1993, that, for the present, available resources would be directed towards expanding the national cardiac surgery centre at the Mater Hospital, Dublin rather than establishing a new unit for cardiac surgery at St. James's Hospital.
