Endoscopy waiting times reduced significantly in Western Trust area

The Western Health and Social Care Trust’s (Western Trust) Endoscopy Team have been making strides in service improvement, which has seen a significant reduction in waiting times for patients who require an endoscopy procedure.

There has been a significant improvement on the overall number of patients waiting for an endoscopy procedure within the Western Trust.

In March 2023, there were 8,897 patients waiting for endoscopy procedures, this has since reduced to 2,310 by March 2025. This represents a reduction of 75% with the Western Trust now having the lowest number of patients waiting for endoscopy procedures in Northern Ireland.

A number of initiatives, including a successful recruitment campaign to increase the workforce has been pivotal in improvements in the service.

Geraldine McKay, Director of Unscheduled Care, Medicine, Cancer and Clinical Services said: “I would like to commend the work of the Endoscopy teams across Altnagelvin Hospital, South West Acute Hospital and Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex for their tireless efforts and commitment to ensuring we do not have patients waiting longer than they need to and in particular the utilisation of the capacity from Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex and Lagan Valley as the two Regional Day Procedure Centres (RDPC).

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“Our highly professional staff have been flexible and have embodied collaborative leadership, at all levels, to provide first class care to endoscopy patients throughout the Western Trust and the region and they should be proud to now have the lowest number of patients waiting for an endoscopy procedures. This ensures that patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment, thus improving patient outcomes.”

Geraldine added: “I would also like to thank patients who have worked with us and taken the first appointment offered to them, particularly if this has not been the closest hospital. This ensures that patients are seen in a timely manner.”