Healthcare waiting lists in NI are the worst in the UK

Recent figures released by the Department of Health have revealed that healthcare waiting lists in the North are the worst in the UK.

Also, no Healthcare Trust met the target to have 50% of patients waiting less than nine weeks, nor the target to have no patients waiting longer than 52 weeks.

A framework published in 2021 proposed a £700m investment over five years to deal with lengthy waits for patients needing assessments or surgery.

The Elective Care Framework is a five-year plan with a dual focus on clearing the existing backlog of patients awaiting hospital treatment and closing the gap between capacity and demand. 

It covers 55 actions to reduce waiting lists and to improve capacity across the elective care system.
However, due to a lack of funding, officials have said there are "significant uncertainties" about implementing that plan.

As of March 31, there were 401,201 patients waiting for their first consultant-led outpatient appointment.

The framework set a target of March 2026 for no patient waiting more than 52 weeks for a first appointment and no longer than 26 weeks for a diagnostics appointment.

Both of these targets were dependent on sustained funding which has not been made available.The Department of Health (DoH) said the recent publication of the latest hospital waiting times in May saw "some evidence of limited but welcome progress in relation to waiting time targets" however due to severe budgetary pressures, "there are significant uncertainties on the future implementation of the Framework, including the rate at which waiting times will be reduced."

The DoH wrote: "The Framework includes two five-year targets, which were both dependent on sustained funding being committed for this period.

"Firstly, by March 2026, no-one should wait more than 52 weeks for a first outpatient appointment and inpatient/day case treatment; or, 26 weeks for a diagnostics appointment. Secondly, by March 2026, the gap between demand and capacity for elective care will have been eradicated.

"The recurrent funding required to deliver these targets has not been made available. 

"It is the Department’s assessment, that even if new recurrent investment was provided now, it will not be possible to achieve either objective in the original five-year timescale.

"The deficit between demand and capacity has been going on for too long and the waiting list backlog has been exacerbated by the impact of Covid.

"Notwithstanding the current financial context, dedicated work is ongoing to make positive improvements even in very difficult times.

"This includes maximising the available resources and identifying potential areas to deliver more efficient and better services."

At a reception to mark the 75th Anniversary of the NHS, Department of Health Permanent Secretary, Peter May said We need to "dispense with outdated responses if our health service is to return to good health."

The event was held in Parliament Buildings by the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON).

Citing the severe pressures on health and social care, Mr May told the event it is “vitally important we do not lose hope or project a message of unremitting negativity”.

The Permanent Secretary continued: “There are reasons for optimism. We have a great staff, giving their best every day. Innovation, compassion, expertise, dedication, world class specialist care – these are all daily realities in our health service. 

"One of the biggest privileges of my job is seeing this in action on a regular basis.”

He also noted that the problems the health service is facing are well-documented and long in the making.

“But for the last 75 years, those in Health and Social Care have solved the problems in front of them," Mr May added.

“It’s the same when it comes to fixing our health service. We can’t carry on regardless with outdated approaches.  

"Stretching services too thinly over too many sites. Ignoring the growing need for some services to be concentrated in specialised hubs. Resisting any change to local hospitals, whatever the evidence. 

"Limping through with limited single year budgets. Pretending one off funding injections will cure everything.”