NI Health: More than 270,000 wait for first outpatient appointment

This week, the Department of Health announced an extra £7m to go towards tackling waiting lists

A total of 272,656 people in Northern Ireland are currently waiting for a first hospital outpatient appointment with a consultant.

This is a rise of 3.1% on the Department of Health's last quarterly figures.

It is also an increase of more than 12% on the figures from the same period last year.

The department's own target is that no patient should wait more than 52 weeks to see a consultant.

The figures indicate 73,380 people have been waiting more than a year.

That compares with 39,557 on 30 September 2016.

It is not just outpatients - day cases and diagnostics have also seen waiting times increase.

Despite a target that says no-one should wait more than 26 weeks for a diagnostic test, these statistics show 18,697 people are in that position.

This compares to 9,675 on 30 September last year.

'Need of transformation'

This week, the Department of Health announced an extra £7m to go towards tackling waiting lists.

The BBC understands the private sector will be used to help clear some of the backlog.

Dr Anne Carson, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) Northern Ireland consultants committee, said it was "disappointing but not surprising that there has been another increase in the number of people here on waiting lists".

"Our health system is in urgent need of transformation," she said. "It is essential we have proper workforce planning that addresses key issues including the recruitment and retention of medical staff.

"We have welcomed recent announcements of additional funding for health. However, waiting list initiatives are only sticking plasters.

"If we do not address the underlying issues we are still left with a system that is broken and the waiting lists will recur."