§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are waiting for cardiothoracic surgery in(a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands, (c) England and Wales and (d) the United Kingdom; what are the average numbers of operations carried out; what are the average waiting times for such surgery in each of these areas; and if he will make a statement on action being taken to increase capacity in each area. [108863]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested is given in the table.
On 18 October 1999, the Secretary of State announced that £50 million will be made available nationally to increase heart operations by 10 per cent. over the next 197W two years. The extra money will pay for additional bypass graft procedures and angioplasties by March 2002. This investment will enable more patients with heart disease to get easier and faster access to treatment.
The National Service Framework on Coronary Heart Disease is due to be published shortly. This will be the first comprehensive plan to deal with all aspects of CHD and will set out an ambitious 10-year strategy to provide a modern service with fair and fast access to high quality services.
Matters for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are for their respective administrations.