Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has welcomed the latest healthcare statistics, which indicate a reduction in hospital waiting lists across Northern Ireland.

Commending the efforts of staff, the Minister highlighted that the number of people waiting for outpatient appointments has fallen for the first time in recent years, despite a backdrop of increasing demand.

The latest quarterly figures reveal that the total number of patients awaiting a first consultant-led outpatient appointment decreased by over 15,000. Furthermore, the number of patients waiting for inpatient or day case admissions fell by 7,316, marking the second consecutive quarter of decline. There was also positive news regarding diagnostics, with 6,673 fewer patients waiting for tests compared to the previous quarter. Minister Nesbitt said: "One of my key priorities is reducing waiting lists and I welcome the incremental improvements we have seen in the latest figures. For the first time in recent years, we have seen a fall in the number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment, against a backdrop of rising demand. This represents a tremendous effort to build capacity, improve productivity, embrace new ways of working and ensure patients receive the right treatment, in the right place, in as timely a manner as possible."

While acknowledging the progress, the Minister emphasised that every statistic represents an individual waiting for care and that significant work remains. He credited healthcare staff with being at the heart of the effort to increase elective capacity and improve patient outcomes.

The Minister added: "There is more work to do. Every statistic represents a patient waiting for an appointment or a procedure. However, despite the increasing pressure on our services, these statistics recognise the determination to reform our services to meet patient need. Our healthcare staff are at the centre of this effort to increase elective capacity, improving waiting times and patient outcomes. I have no doubt that the ongoing delivery of the Elective Care Framework will continue to improve these statistics. Significant numbers of patients are being treated through our elective care facilities and, in combination with the modernisation of outpatient services, integration of GP elective procedures and a digitally enhanced approach to the delivery of care, I anticipate that we will see further improvement. I am encouraged by today's figures, while acknowledging the sustained effort and continued collaboration required to transform our elective care."