Publication of the Quarterly Northern Ireland Waiting List Statistics - Position at the 31st March 2016

The Department of Health today published the quarterly Northern Ireland Waiting List Statistics, relating to the position at the 31st March 2016.

The Waiting List Statistics Releases show detailed information on the number of people waiting for a first outpatient appointment, a diagnostic test or inpatient treatment at hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Key facts and figures for NI Waiting Times at end of March 2016

Waiting Times for a First Outpatient Appointment

• the 2015/16 Ministerial target relating to outpatient waiting times states that from April 2015, at least 60% of patients should wait no longer than nine weeks for a first outpatient appointment, and no patient waiting longer than 18 weeks
• at 31st March 2016, a total of 214,953 people were waiting for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment, 8.7%, (20,412) less than at 31st December 2015 but 12.1% (23,176) more than at the end of March 2015
• at the end of March 2016, 63.3% (136,032) of patients were waiting more than 9 weeks for a first outpatient appointment, compared with 70.0% waiting at the end of December 2015 and 56.3% at the 31st March 2015
• at 31st March 2016, almost half (46.6%, 100,234) of patients were waiting longer than 18 weeks, 18.4% (22,537) less than at 31st December 2015, but 43.7% (30,504) more than at 31st March 2015

Waiting Times for a Diagnostic Service

• the 2015/16 Ministerial target for diagnostic waiting times states that, from April 2015, no patient should wait longer than nine weeks for a diagnostic test
• at 31st March 2016, 93,531 patients were waiting for a diagnostic service at HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland, 0.5% (512) less than at 31st December 2015 (94,043) but 16.0% (12,888) more than at 31st March 2015 (80,643)
• almost a third (31.1%, 29,088) of patients were waiting longer than 9 weeks at the end of March 2016, 13.3% (4,467) less than the number at the end of the previous quarter (33,555), but 26.4% (6,067) more than at the end of the same quarter last year (23,021)

Diagnostic Reporting Turnaround Times

• the 2015/16 Ministerial target for diagnostic reporting times states that, from April 2015, all urgent diagnostic tests should be reported on within two days of the test being undertaken
• during the quarter ending March 2016, 143,730 completed diagnostic reports were verified and dispatched to the referring clinician in Northern Ireland, 1.0% (1,464) more than the previous quarter (142,266), and 5.0% (6,809) more than the same quarter last year (136,921)
• in Northern Ireland as a whole, 88.3% of all urgent diagnostic tests were reported on within 2 days in the quarter ending March 2016, compared to 87.9% in the previous quarter and 90.3% for the same quarter last year
• the South Eastern HSC Trust reported the highest proportion of urgent tests within two days (96.7%), with the other Trusts reporting between 80.6% and 93.2% of urgent tests within 2 days

Waiting Times for Inpatient Admission

• the 2015/16 Ministerial target, for inpatient waiting times, states that from April 2015, at least 65% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks for inpatient or day case treatment, and no patient should wait longer than 26 weeks
• at 31st March 2016 a total of 67,898 patients were waiting to be admitted to hospitals in Northern Ireland, 1.3% (872) more than the 31st December 2015, and 17.2% (9,964) more than at 31st March 2015
• at the end of March 2016, 48.1% (32,676) of patients were waiting more than 13 weeks for inpatient admission, compared with 52.4% (35,113) at the end of December 2015 and 48.0% (27,780) at the end of March 2015
• there were 25.9% (17,601) of patients waiting longer than 26 weeks at the 31st March 2016, 17.8% (3,812) less than at 31st December 2015, but 29.2% (3,979) more than at 31st March 2015

Notes to editors: 

1. All publications are available online. 

2.  About the data

• the sources for the data contained in this release are the Departmental Information Returns CH3, QOAR, SDR1, DRTT, IS1, the DHSSPS Inpatient and ICATS Waiting Times Datasets and the Hospital Inpatient System Dataset.  These returns collect information from HSC Trusts and the Health and Social Care Board on a quarterly basis
• figures will also include privately funded patients waiting for treatment in Health Service hospitals and those patients who are resident outside Northern Ireland
• data incorporate all returns and amendments received from HSC Trusts up to 13th May 2016

3. Outpatient definitions

• an outpatient appointment is an appointment to enable a patient to see a consultant, a member of their team or a locum for such a member, in respect of one referral
• the waiting list figures include all outpatients who have not had their first appointments by the end of the quarter including those who have cancelled or missed a previous appointment
• the outpatient waiting list figures presented do not include maternity specialties 501 (Obstetrics), 510 (Obstetrics (Ante Natal)) and 520 (Obstetrics (Post Natal))

4. Diagnostic Service definitions

• a diagnostic service provides an examination, test or procedure used to identify a person’s disease or condition and which allows a medical diagnosis to be made
• the diagnostic waiting list figures presented include people waiting for a test with a diagnostic element including tests that are part diagnostic and subsequently part therapeutic They do not include:
  • patients currently admitted to a hospital bed and waiting for an emergency procedure
  • purely therapeutic procedures.  A therapeutic procedure is defined as a procedure which involves actual treatment of a person’s disease, condition or injury
  • patients undergoing a planned programme of tests
  • patients waiting for procedures as part of a screening programme

5. Diagnostic Reporting Times definitions

• the diagnostic reporting turnaround time is the length of time between the diagnostic test being undertaken and the results being verified and dispatched to the referring clinician
• diagnostic reporting times apply to a selected subset of diagnostic services.  These services are: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Computerised Tomography; Non-Obstetric Ultrasound; Barium Studies; DEXA Scan; Radio-Nuclide Imaging; Pure Tone Audiometry; Echocardiography; Perfusion Studies; Peripheral Neurophysiology; Sleep Studies; and Urodynamics Pressures and Flows

6. Inpatient definitions

• ordinary admissions include both (a) patients admitted electively with the expectation that they will remain in hospital for at least one night, and (b) non-elective admissions (e.g. emergency admissions).  A patient who is admitted with either of the above intentions, but who leaves hospital for any reason without staying overnight, is still counted as an ordinary admission.  The figures in this statistics release only include non-emergency admissions
• Day Cases are patients admitted electively during the course of a day with the intention of receiving care who do not require the use of a hospital bed overnight and who return home as scheduled.  If this original intention is not fulfilled and the patient stays overnight, such a patient is counted as an ordinary admission
• the waiting list inpatient figures presented include people waiting to be admitted as inpatients either as day cases or ordinary admissions. They do not include:
  • patients admitted as emergency cases
  • outpatients
  • patients undergoing a planned programme of treatment e.g. a series of admissions for chemotherapy
  • maternity (specialties 510 and 520)
  • patients currently receiving inpatient treatment in hospitals but who are included on other waiting lists
  • patients who are temporarily suspended from waiting lists

7. This information was collated by Hospital Information Branch, DoH.

Further information is available from:

Hospital Information Branch
Department of Health
Annexe 2, Castle Buildings
Stormont, BT4 3SQ

Telephone: 028 90 523264

E-mail: Statistics@health-ni.gov.uk

8. Media queries to DoH Press Office on 02890 520074, or out of hours contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned. Follow us on Twitter @healthdpt

Share this page