John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 228: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of breast cancer surgical procedures, as recorded by the hospital in-patient enquire database for Sligo Hospital for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 and in the case of the figure for 2007 the percentage of the cases processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22076/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The number of breast cancer surgical procedures, as recorded by the Hospital In-patient Enquiry (HIPE) System for Sligo General Hospital are as follows:

2005 — 65

2006 — 57

2007 — 79

The National Quality Assurance Standards for Symptomatic Breast Disease, which are approved by the Health Information and Quality Authority, recommend that specialist breast centres should provide care/service to more than 150 newly diagnosed patients with primary breast cancer per year.

HIPE data are coded by staff based in each hospital and returned to the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Hospitals were due to return all HIPE data for 2007 by 31st March 2008. The figure for 2007 is based on HIPE data made available to the ESRI at the end of April. It is estimated that the coverage for Sligo at this stage was 97.4%.

The data refer to the total number of the following procedures which were carried out on women with a principal diagnosis of breast cancer:

Excision of lesion of breast

Re-excision of lesion of breast

Subcutaneous mastectomy, unilateral

Subcutaneous mastectomy, bilateral

Simple mastectomy, unilateral

Simple mastectomy, bilateral