Health Minister Joseph Cassar has told Parliament that as on October 9, there were 7,711 cases on hospital waiting lists.

Answering a question by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis, the minister said the lists included 1,653 persons for total knee arthroplasty; 1,494 for knee arthroscopy; 327 for total hip arthroplasty; 3,215 for cataract removal and 1,022 car-diology cases.

Dr Cassar said the central patient waiting list management system was now up-and-running in the orthopaedics, ophthalmology and cardiology departments. In the near future it would also be installed in the surgical department.

The updated list was a result of taking over waiting lists held by various consultants and removing all names of those who no longer needed surgery because they featured as double entries, had passed away, had already undergone surgery or, for some reason or other, no longer wanted to undergo surgery.

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