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Northern Ireland in line for fewer heart operations
Monday 4 January 2010
A leading medical charity is warning of a reduction in the number of heart operations and a longer wait for surgery unless more cardiac surgeons are appointed in Northern Ireland.
NI Chest, Heart & Stroke says a decision by the Belfast Trust not to send people to London or Dublin for their operations means that around 100 fewer surgical procedures were carried out in the last three months of 2009. Staff shortages also mean that the average waiting time for heart surgery is likely to increase from the current 13 weeks.
The charity has called for a meeting between the Department of Health, the Regional Health and Social Care Board, the Trusts, medical charities and cardiac groups to resolve the issue.
NICHS Chief Executive Andrew Dougal said: "We have never been in favour of sending large numbers of people outside Northern Ireland for surgery, because of the extra stress it places on the family. But if the alternative is for patients not to have their operations at all, that is unacceptable. We have consistently called for 1,500 operations a year in Northern Ireland. Last year only 1,000 were done in Belfast, with 400 being done in Dublin and London. In our view, the only solution is to continue with operations outside Northern Ireland for a period of no longer than two years, with the aim of becoming self-sufficient by 2013."
Professor Mahendra Varma, Consultant Cardiologist and Chairman of the charity, said, "Quite a number of inpatients are blocking beds at great cost to the Health Service. I have seen inpatients wait up to 11 weeks to get their operation. This is a huge wast of Health Service resources. It appears to be happening in many hospitals. In the Republic of Ireland inpatients will wait no more than one week. There they realise the waste of resources caused by extended inpatient waits. Stringent incentives ought to be introduced to ensure that the performance criteria include reduction in such waste.
"This issue has been a problem for more than 20 years, with only stop-go progress being made since we first demanded action in 1991. Every time we take two steps forward, we take a step back. We realise that these are difficult economic times, but an issue that endures for more than two decades without a solution can't be all about money. The Health Service needs to demonstrate that it has the culture and the will to deliver the number of badly-needed operations that the heart patients of Northern Ireland deserve. To meet the needs of the Northern Ireland people, 3 additional cardiac surgeons must be appointed. This needs to be done without further delay."
ENDS
