I refer to the article entitled ‘Damning report on healthcare provision’ (January 28).

It states that “over 50 per cent of major elective surgery cases (such as coronary bypass, angioplasty and hip/knee joint) have to wait over 90 days”. This is totally untrue.

Since the millennium, there has been no waiting list at all for patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery. This happy state of affairs was achieved by performing out-of-hours operating lists. My department of cardiothoracic surgery pioneered such lists and we were the first to also operate on Sundays.

Patients referred for cardiac surgery receive prompt treatment within two weeks unless there is a medical condition that precludes this.

Another inaccuracy is the classification of angioplasty as “major surgery”. Angioplasty is not a surgical operation but a procedure performed with the help of guide wires introduced into the body through a needle puncture.