NI hospital waiting lists fall

Health Minister, Angela Smith has welcomed the news that hospital inpatient waiting lists have fallen for the third quarter in succession.

Figures by the Department of Health revealed that around 55,500 people were waiting for treatment for the period April to June 2003 - a drop of more than 7% in the last year.

However, there are still longer delays for patients in Northern Ireland than in any other part of the UK.

Commenting on the figures, the Minister said: “I am pleased that inpatient numbers have fallen for the third quarter in succession, but the fall is only a small one and we must continue our efforts to reduce both the number of people waiting and the time they are having to wait.

"I am disappointed that outpatient numbers have risen during this quarter, yet 72% of patients seen during the quarter had their first appointment in less than three months, with 97% being seen within twelve months."

The British Medical Association in Northern Ireland was less enthusiastic about the figures. Maurice Dunlop, Chairman of the BMA's NI Council, said: "The additional funding for waiting lists, made available over the past months, was very welcome but unless we have more doctors, more nurses, more support staff and more beds in the NHS we are not going to make any real headway in tackling this serious problem."

Outlining the way forward Angela Smith said more money was needed to tackle the waiting list problem but that a concerted and intensified effort was needed by her department to continue to make advancements in dealing with the problem.

(MB)