Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 4

Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Michael D. Higgins

Ceist:

94 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of adults and children on waiting lists for cardiac operations; if his attention has been drawn to the concern expressed (details supplied) that seriously ill people on waiting lists in need of heart surgery are dying; the steps, if any, he is taking to deal with this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9906/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

Adult cardiac by-pass surgery in the public health sector is currently carried out at three centres, the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, Cork University Hospital and since September 1998, St James's Hospital, Dublin. Paediatric cardiac surgery is carried out at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.

Public patient waiting list statistics are collected by hospitals and furnished to my Department on a quarterly basis. I can confirm that at the end of December 1999, the most recent period for which information is available, there was a total of 816 adults awaiting cardiac surgery over 12 months and 298 waiting for three to 12 months. There was a total of 67 children awaiting cardiac surgery over six months, and 21 waiting for three to six months.

In 1998, I allocated funding of £2.3 million under the Cardiac Surgery Waiting List Initiative, with the specific aim of reducing the national cardiac surgery waiting list for adults and children. In 1999, I made provision for the allocation of £4 million under the Cardiac Surgery Waiting List Initiative and a further £4 million will be made available in 2000. I am confident that this funding will build on previous years' success in reducing the total number of adults and children on the waiting list. The Cardiac Surgery Waiting List Initiative has had, and will continue to have, a positive impact on the public cardiac waiting list. The total number of public patients awaiting cardiac surgery has reduced from 1619 in September 1997 to 1202 in December 1999, this represents a reduction of 25%.

As Minister for Health and Children, my priority is to address the existing cardiac surgery waiting lists and the ultimate objective is to achieve an average six month waiting period for those on the lists. I am confident that the development of additional adult public cardiac surgery facilities at St. James's Hospital, Dublin, and the proposed new cardiac surgery developments at University College Hospital, Galway, will help reduce the waiting lists which exist at present. Target activity levels are in the region of 450 procedures annually at St. James's Hospital and 300 procedures at UCHG. This additional activity will increase existing adult public cardiac surgery capacity by over 50%. I am also developing additional children's cardiac surgery capacity at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin in association with the National Cardiac Unit, Mater Hospital to provide for up to an additional 100 cardiac procedures for children. This additional activity will increase existing paediatric cardiac surgery capacity by up to 40%.