Patients could be flown for heart ops outside North

Hundreds of people could be flown out of Northern Ireland by the Stormont Executive for heart by-pass surgery in a dramatic bid to wipe out waiting lists for the operation, it emerged tonight.

Ministers in the power-sharing government have been considering a plan which would involve transporting between 500 and 600 patients to medical centres outside the province which could handle the extra surgery.

It is understood the idea has been floated by Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble and could be announced next week.

It is estimated the move could cost the Executive between £6 million and £8 million.

A Stormont source said: ‘‘In Northern Ireland, some people have been on the waiting list for years.

‘‘We could address their agony by transporting people to medical centres outside of Northern Ireland which can handle an extra volume of operations - whether it is London, Glasgow, Brussels, Dublin or Paris.

‘‘It would really be taking things on a different plain. It would be the Executive finding an imaginative solution to real problems and on a basic humane level, it would mean alleviating the distress suffered by the hundreds of people on waiting lists.’’

Northern Ireland has the worst waiting list figures in the UK and Europe, with 58,000 people awaiting medical procedures at the end of last year.

According to figures released by Northern Ireland Health Minister Bairbre de Brun in March, 8,300 people have waited more than 12 months for heart surgery or 18 months in other specialities.

Heart disease remains a major problem in Northern Ireland, which has more cases than other parts of the UK.

Recent research by the University of Ulster suggested a lengthy wait for cardiac surgery can impact on a patient’s recovery after a procedure.

A study of 70 patients over seven years who waited an average of 13 months for surgery showed a marked improvement in anxiety levels and their quality of life after the operation.

However, those who had the most traumatic time on the waiting lists showed the least improvement after surgery.

In February, a group of heart patients and their families met Ms de Brun to demand shorter waiting times.

The delegation from the Cardiac Support Groups’ Forum also called for other improvements in treatment.

In March, the Sinn Fein Health Minister secured £224 million in additional funding to help reduce waiting lists, improve access to cardiac surgery and support children’s and community services.

Following a review of heart surgery, Ms de Brun insisted there had been ‘‘real improvements,’’ with more cardiac nurses in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital and over 200 additional surgery operations purchased elsewhere.

Officials at the Department of Health have also been looking at increasing cardiac surgery capacity, aiming to raise the total number of cardiac operations to 1,100.