Hospital waiting lists peak to new record

The number of people on hospital waiting lists in the province has reached an all-time high.

According to the latest quarterly figures there are almost 59,000 people on hospital waiting lists – an increase of over 1,000 on the previous quarter – and much higher than the targets set by government.

However, Health Minister Ms Bairbre de Brún said she was determined to reduce waiting lists. She said: "Tackling waiting lists will be one of my top priorities in the coming year and I have therefore moved to introduce a number of key measures designed to reduce numbers of patients awaiting treatment. These steps are the latest initiatives arising from my Framework for Action on Waiting Lists.

"In setting priorities for the service for this year and beyond, I have asked Boards and Trusts to develop plans for ‘protected’ elective facilities similar to the one in Altnagelvin Hospital. This pilot initiative is having a direct and positive impact on the management of waiting lists in the Western Health Board area. At my request, the Boards have prepared plans for a number of these facilities to be up and running later this year."

Ms de Brún also said that a Service Improvement Manager with "extensive experience in the development of innovative approaches to waiting problems" was to work with Boards and Trusts in an effort to improve their management practices and processes.

The Minister said that she was involved in a bid to secure funding for a number of key capital developments, drawing on the ‘Reinvestment and Reform Initiative’.

Ms de Brún added that the setting up of pre-operative assessment clinics would have a significant impact as they were a practical means of ensuring that patients are ready for surgery and will aid the management of their operations.

The Minister emphasised that the great majority of patients do not have very long to wait for treatment: "Most patients are still treated promptly. In fact, 75% of inpatients seen during the first quarter of 2002 had been waiting less than three months, with 95% of inpatients treated during the same quarter waiting less than twelve months."

However, the figures revealed that the numbers of those patients waiting for 18 months or longer has reached a new high.

(SP)