£135m a year to fix waiting lists, say health officials

The Department of Health (DoH) estimates investment of around £675m over five years to deal with waiting lists

Hospital waiting lists can only be eradicated by a cash injection of £135m every year for the next five years, according to health officials.

In November, Northern Ireland recorded its highest ever number of people waiting for a first appointment with a hospital consultant.

More than half a million people are now on lists to have a consultation with a specialist.

The Department of Health (DoH) estimates investment of about £675m over five years to deal with the 506,600 people yet to be seen.

'Completely unacceptable'

More than half a million in Northern Ireland are on lists to have consultations with a specialist

Department official Dr Tomas Adell told Stormont's health committee that the "backlog is huge and the numbers are completely unacceptable".

He said the waiting list issue has been worsening since 2010 and was "impossible" to resolve quickly.

"We estimate that it can be done in five years if we have huge investment... but this is not an easy fix," said Dr Adell.

He said the waiting list problem could not be dealt with through efficiency savings alone.

"To fix the backlog, we estimate that it would cost up to £135m a year for up to five years.

"These are very significant investment requirements in a very challenging context - but that is the reality," he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Agency (PHA) and Southern Health Trust are to be called before the scrutiny committee to explain why so many women were failed over screening for cervical cancer.

A major review into cervical screening at the Southern Health Trust found eight women whose smear tests were misread by screeners went on to develop cancer.

A further 11 women's slides were found to have pre-cancerous changes in the cells when they were reviewed and had to receive treatment.

All these women had either pre-cancerous changes to their cervix or were diagnosed with another significant gynaecological condition when their smears were reviewed.

The Southern Health Trust has apologised to all those affected.

Health committee members said they wanted to hear from the trust and PHA over why it had gone on for such a long period of time.