§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the current average time between referral to a cardiac surgeon in Northern Ireland and the first appointment with that surgeon;
(2) what was the longest interval in Northern Ireland for waiting time between referral to a cardiac surgeon and the first appointment with that surgeon for the most recent available period.
§ Mr. AncramDuring the quarter ending September 1993, the medium waiting time between the date of referral to a cardiac surgeon and first appointment was 0-3 months.
Records for the same quarter indicate that the longest a patient waited between referral and first appointment with a cardiac surgeon was 21 months and 20 days. The unusual delay in this case appears to have arisen as a result of an administrative oversight. The Royal Victoria hospital is undertaking a validation of the records of those waiting for appointment with a cardiac surgeon which should ensure that similar oversights do not occur in future.