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The ministry, National Health Security Office and the Cardiac Children Foundation will look after 1,116 children with heart disease between now and the end of the year.

To increase the number of children getting heart surgery, Chaovarat says operations will be performed at 22 hospitals across the country. They will be done outside of normal surgery hours.

The list of hospitals where surgery is available is at moph.go.th. Applicants must be registered with the universal healthcare scheme to get the free treatment.

Congenital

Chaovarat says about 8,000 children are born each year suffering from congenital heart disease.

About half those need surgery.

At present, only 2,000 to 2,500 children with heart disease can get surgery at state and private hospitals. The rest go on a waiting list.

Cardiac Children Foundation head Dr Boonchop Pongpanich says 80 per cent of heart disease in children is congenital. The absence of one or more heart chambers or valves is a common problem. Rheumatic heart disease was the second worst problem found in children aged more than five.

Risk factors are virus infections such as rubella and streptococcus during pregnancy.