The Minister for the Health on the Northern Ireland Executive Simon Hamilton has stated he remains “100 per cent committed” to tackling hospital waiting lists after it was disclosed that there are more than 400,000 patients on waiting lists in Northern Ireland who have experienced delays of three months to more than a year.

Doctors and nurses representatives in the North have called for fundamental changes to address the waiting list problem in Northern Ireland.

Recent figures also show that the number of patients waiting more than a year for a major operation in the North has tripled over a nine-month period to almost 7,000. This compares unfavourably with England where, in December, 755 people were waiting longer than a year for operations.

First assessment

The Irish News, citing figures revealed this month by the North’s Health and Social Care Board, also reported that that there has been an eight-fold increase in the number of people waiting for their first assessment with a hospital consultant.

Under Department of Health targets, no one should wait more than 18 weeks for their first hospital outpatient appointment following a doctor’s referral. The figures to November show that there are more than 400,000 people on waiting lists out of a population of 1.8 million.

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