Leading health charity calls on Department of Health to tackle what it calls the 'scandal' of lengthy waiting lists for Echocardiograms, known as Echo tests

A leading health charity has called on the Department of Health to tackle what it calls the 'scandal' of lengthy waiting lists for Echocardiograms, known as Echo tests. Right now, more than 5,500 people have been waiting more than 26 weeks to get an echo, which measures heart activity and can reveal serious cardiac problems. It's a more complex test than the ECG which is often carried out in a GP surgery. The total waiting list for Echo tests has grown from 10,000 to nearly 16,000 in the past two years. Stephen got reaction from Neil Johnston from the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association and the Belfast GP Dr George O'Neill.