May 14, 1997
(Health)

The following statement was issued today by Joan Marie Aylward, Minister of Health. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to announce a plan to reduce the wait list for cardiac surgery. The Health Care Corporation of St. John's has made arrangements for Newfoundland residents to undergo cardiac surgery at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia and the St. John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick. We estimate approximately 50 Newfoundland residents waiting for heart surgery will avail of this program between June and the end of the calendar year.

The Health Care Corporation of St. John's will notify patients of their options as quickly as possible. Those patients who have been waiting for the longest period of time will be given priority. Mr. Speaker, the cost of performing the procedures is covered under inter- provincial agreements in place between all provinces. Given the circumstances surrounding the cardiac surgery wait list, government is prepared, on a one time basis, to cover transportation costs for these patients.

Mr. Speaker, our preferred option would be to perform all of our cardiac surgeries here in this province. Government and the Health Care Corporation of St. John's are working to increase our capacity to perform cardiac surgery through dedicated ICU space and expanded operating facilities that will increase our ability to perform 12 procedures per week on a consistent basis, up from approximately 10 per week, which is the current average. We have committed the funds necessary to increase our capacity and will move to ensure the new space is ready by January 1998.

Sending patients out of the province is an interim solution to help relieve the pressure of the wait list for cardiac surgery in the province. Once the immediate problem is dealt with, and our capacity to perform cardiac surgery in St. John's is expanded, we will be able to accommodate our needs within this province.