Hospital waiting lists rise by 8.3%

More than 305,000 people in Northern Ireland are on a waiting list for a first appointment with a consultant, according to the Department of Health.

That is 8.3% more than December 2018.

More than a third of patients have waited for more than a year - the target states that no one should wait longer than 52 weeks.

An additional 1,319 patients are waiting for their first cataract treatment appointment at the Regional Assessment and Surgical Centre.

The rise comes despite the opening of new regional centres for day surgery, including cataract surgery, which was announced by the Department of Health in 2018.

Department of Health officials had hoped they would significantly reduce waiting lists for both cataract and varicose vein procedures.

The number of people attending hospitals for their first outpatient appointment is also up by 0.3% - that is 116,361 people seeking help.

Health Minister Robin Swann described the latest hospital waiting times as "appalling".

He said the starting point for action to address the backlog was spelt out in New Decade, New Approach, which specifies that no one waiting over a year by 30 September 2019 for outpatient or inpatient assessment or treatment will still be on a waiting list by March 2021.

"Behind the statistics are many thousands of our citizens facing unending pain and worry," he said.

"Let me make this statement of intent as health minister - we can and must put this right."

Mr Swann said tackling waiting lists would require approximately £50m as part of the 2020/21 health budget.

He added that sustained additional investment would also be needed in the future to deal with waiting list backlogs and increase the system's in-house capacity to provide assessment and treatment.

"Our options will include the use of providers from Great Britain - both NHS and independent sector - as well as in the Irish Republic," he said.

Report originally wrongly stated the 8.3% increase was since December 2019 and was changed on 3 March.