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 Dr Peter Wilde"Not enough money to run unit"  real 28k |
Doctor exposes heart wait deaths
Patients are waiting too long for surgery, says an expert
A heart specialist says as many as 10 of his patients may have died in the last six months because of long waits for operations.
Dr Peter Wilde, director of cardio-thoracic services at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, said that lack of money was to blame.
Dr Peter Wilde, director of cardio-thoracic services at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, said that lack of money was to blame.
If those patients who had been classified as urgent had been operated on within a month, we would probably have saved half of them  |
Dr Peter Wilde, Bristol Royal Infirmary
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He claimed that the south west of England was particularly under resourced.
Dr Wilde told the BBC: "If those patients who had been classified as urgent had been operated on within a month, we would probably have saved half of them."
Dr Wilde told the BBC: "If those patients who had been classified as urgent had been operated on within a month, we would probably have saved half of them."
 Dr Peter Wilde says lives could have been saved
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At Bristol Royal Infirmary, however, it takes between six and 12 months for an urgent case to reach the operating table.
Figures show that 20 patients died waiting for heart surgery at Bristol in the last six months.
Nine of these were classified as urgent.
Death risk
Most people waiting for heart surgery need bypass operations to replace hardened and clogged heart arteries.
They may have already suffered a heart attack or chest pain, and their condition generally worsens over time.
Studies have shown that people on the waiting list for heart surgery have a far higher chance of dying than those who have undergone surgery.
And the patient's quality of life may be severely affected during a long wait for heart surgery.
Figures show that 20 patients died waiting for heart surgery at Bristol in the last six months.
Nine of these were classified as urgent.
Death risk
Most people waiting for heart surgery need bypass operations to replace hardened and clogged heart arteries.
They may have already suffered a heart attack or chest pain, and their condition generally worsens over time.
Studies have shown that people on the waiting list for heart surgery have a far higher chance of dying than those who have undergone surgery.
And the patient's quality of life may be severely affected during a long wait for heart surgery.
 Bypass surgery replaces clogged arteries around the heart
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A spokeswoman for the hospital said that 700 people were waiting for cardiac surgery - with more than 100 having waited for over a year.
Two years ago, only 500 were waiting for cardiac surgery.
She said: "Unfortunately there's always a risk for people waiting for this kind of surgery and we can never say for sure whether people would have died or not."
She said that more than £6m for equipment and facilities, and the same amount yearly to pay for staff and running costs.
The Bristol Royal Infirmary was the hospital at the centre of a scandal of high death rates in heart surgery for children and babies.
One of the surgeons involved, Mr Janardan Dhasmana both carried out adult surgery in addition to their paediatric work.
Mr Wisheart retired when the scandal broke, and was later struck off.
Mr Dhasmana was told by the General Medical Council that he could not operate on babies, but allowed to carry on with adult work. However, he was sacked by the trust.
A recently-published audit of adult and child cardiac surgery at Bristol showed surgeons now have better success rates than the UK average.
Two years ago, only 500 were waiting for cardiac surgery.
She said: "Unfortunately there's always a risk for people waiting for this kind of surgery and we can never say for sure whether people would have died or not."
She said that more than £6m for equipment and facilities, and the same amount yearly to pay for staff and running costs.
The Bristol Royal Infirmary was the hospital at the centre of a scandal of high death rates in heart surgery for children and babies.
One of the surgeons involved, Mr Janardan Dhasmana both carried out adult surgery in addition to their paediatric work.
Mr Wisheart retired when the scandal broke, and was later struck off.
Mr Dhasmana was told by the General Medical Council that he could not operate on babies, but allowed to carry on with adult work. However, he was sacked by the trust.
A recently-published audit of adult and child cardiac surgery at Bristol showed surgeons now have better success rates than the UK average.
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