Northern Ireland

Surgeon’s concern over NI’s ‘dismal waiting times’ as 356,000 waiting for first outpatient appointment

Niall McGonigle from the Royal College of Surgeons said it was ‘vital’ for a protected and sustained budget to bring down waiting lists

The NHS waiting list figure of 7.6 million is the highest since records began in 2007 (Peter Byrne/PA)
By Allan Preston

SURGEONS have repeated calls for sustainable funding to tackle Northern Ireland’s “dismal waiting times”.

The latest quarterly figures covering four of the five health trusts showed that 356,229 patients were waiting for a first outpatient appointment, over 14,000 more (4.2%) from the last quarter.

No patient is supposed to wait more than 52 weeks for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment, but 172,789 (48.5%) were waiting longer than this by March 31, 2024 – up 9,000 since the last quarter.

Figures for the South Eastern Trust were not included because of the roll out of the new multi-million pound digital patient records system, encompass.

Niall McGonigle, Northern Ireland Director of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “The long waits for treatment that patients in Northern Ireland continue to endure remain extremely concerning.

“Today’s figures once again emphasise the scale of the task facing health service staff who are working tirelessly to get patients seen.”

Niall McGonigle, Northern Ireland Director of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Niall McGonigle, Northern Ireland Director of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Waits for diagnostic tests had also increased by over 11,000 (7.3%) to 164,476, while there was a slight drop in patients waiting for inpatient or day case admission, down (3.3%) from nearly 98,000 to 94,537.

The longest surgical waiters were for ENT surgery at 346 weeks or 6.5 years and urology, 320 weeks or over six years.

Mr McGonigle added: “It is vital that the Northern Ireland Executive sets out a recurrent and protected budget to increase capacity and tackle waiting lists. This includes opening more hospital beds for surgical patients, expanding surgical hubs, and supporting health service staff who are under huge pressure.

“We welcome the new Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, and offer support to him as he begins the challenge of ensuring Northern Ireland’s health service meets the needs of its patients now, and in the future.”