§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of heart patients who were sent for surgery from Wales to England for each of the years 1984 to the current year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many planning applications were submitted in each of the Welsh national parks in the last two years for which figures are available; how many were determined; and how many of those determined, in numbers and as proportions, were successful.
§ Mr. RobertsThe information on planning applications in the calendar years 1988 and 1989 for Brecon Beacons national park and the Pembrokeshire coast national park is set out in the following table. No statistical returns were received from Snowdonia national park.
However, an indication of the number of cases of Welsh residents treated in the 14 regional health authorities of England whose speciality on discharge was cardiothoracic surgery is as follows:
Numbers 1984 511 1985 462 1986 446 11987–88 408 11988–89 405 1 1 April to 31 March Notes:
1. These estimates are based on the best available information supplied by the English regional health authorities.
2. The estimates relate to the specialty of cardiothoracic surgery as figures for cardiac surgery cannot be separately identified.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales are awaiting heart surgery; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GristInformation on the number of people in Wales awaiting heart surgery is not available centrally, but the number waiting for in-patient treatment in hospitals in Wales in the specialty of cardiac surgery at 31 December 1989 was 242.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he has any proposals to eliminate waiting lists for investigating heart problems;
(2) what proposals he has to increase facilities in Wales for heart surgery; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GristProposals for major developments in the investigation and treatment of patients with heart disease in Wales are well under way following a review by the cardiology committee of the Royal College of Physicians. A centre of excellence capable of providing 800 open heart operations yearly for adults with appropriate cardiology is to be developed at University hospital of Wales (UHW), Cardiff. Funds have already been provided to upgrade the cardiac catheter laboratories and are to be made available this year to enhance intensive and coronary care facilities at the hospital. Consideration is also being given to the development of a second adult cardiac unit in South Wales. In the interim, funds have been made available to secure additional cardiological procedures and cardiac surgery from other specialist centres in England.
341WA new paediatric cardiac unit at UHW is on schedule for completion in autumn this year.
In North Wales, additional funds have been made available to improve access to cardiology and cardiac surgery for patients in Clwyd, and Gwynedd health authority has been asked to assess its requirements and present detailed proposals to the department.