§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children there were on the waiting list for cardiac surgery at the Birmingham children's hospital on each day for the period 1 May to 17 May.
§ Mrs. Currie[holding answer 23 May 1988]: The Department is routinely informed of the number of children awaiting cardiac surgery at the Birmingham children's hospital once a month. On 5 May the number was 100. Between then and 3 June, 30 children were operated on, of which 14 were from the waiting list and 16 were emergency cases or priority new referrals. Fourteen were added to the waiting list, which accordingly remained at 100. 83 of the 107 children awaiting cardiac surgery last Christmas have now been treated. The unit has treated 102 open-heart cases so far this year compared with 126 in all of 1987.