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07/09/2006
Minister welcomes drop in hospital waiting times
Health Minister Paul Goggins has today welcomed the sustained improvement in waiting times for hospital patients.
The Minister also re-emphasised his commitment to driving waiting times down even further, over the coming months and has set a new target that no patient should be waiting more than six months for inpatient or daycase treatment by March 2007.
Waiting list figures released today show that the numbers waiting over six months for surgery have reduced by more than 20% on the last quarter and have more than halved over the last year.
The report also revealed that the total number of patients waiting for inpatient or daycare treatment has decreased by -2.9% over the quarter, a reduction of -15.0% over the year.
The number of patients waiting over six months for inpatient or daycase treatment has decreased by -21.8% - a reduction of -59.4% compared to the same quarter last year.
The total number of patients waiting over six months for a first outpatient appointment has fallen by -6.5% over the quarter and 98.8% of inpatients and 94.5% of outpatients were seen within twelve months.
Commenting on the figures, Paul Goggins said: “What we are about is putting patients first. I am very pleased that the figures released today show the continued progress being made to reduce waiting times for patients here. The numbers waiting more than six months for surgery have fallen by 1,400 over the last quarter and by 7,500 over the year. These figures are very encouraging and highlight the hard work and commitment of all HPSS staff in implementing the reforms introduced last year.”
The number of people waiting more than six months for a first outpatient appointment also decreased over the last quarter by 4,820 to 69,095.
Commenting on this reduction, the Minister said: “I welcome the fact that the length of time patients have to wait for an outpatient appointment is beginning to fall. However, there are still far too many patients waiting much too long. I am determined that, by March 2007, no-one will be waiting more than six months for their first outpatient appointment. It is therefore necessary to redouble our efforts to take forward the outpatient reforms announced earlier this year.”
(EF)
The Minister also re-emphasised his commitment to driving waiting times down even further, over the coming months and has set a new target that no patient should be waiting more than six months for inpatient or daycase treatment by March 2007.
Waiting list figures released today show that the numbers waiting over six months for surgery have reduced by more than 20% on the last quarter and have more than halved over the last year.
The report also revealed that the total number of patients waiting for inpatient or daycare treatment has decreased by -2.9% over the quarter, a reduction of -15.0% over the year.
The number of patients waiting over six months for inpatient or daycase treatment has decreased by -21.8% - a reduction of -59.4% compared to the same quarter last year.
The total number of patients waiting over six months for a first outpatient appointment has fallen by -6.5% over the quarter and 98.8% of inpatients and 94.5% of outpatients were seen within twelve months.
Commenting on the figures, Paul Goggins said: “What we are about is putting patients first. I am very pleased that the figures released today show the continued progress being made to reduce waiting times for patients here. The numbers waiting more than six months for surgery have fallen by 1,400 over the last quarter and by 7,500 over the year. These figures are very encouraging and highlight the hard work and commitment of all HPSS staff in implementing the reforms introduced last year.”
The number of people waiting more than six months for a first outpatient appointment also decreased over the last quarter by 4,820 to 69,095.
Commenting on this reduction, the Minister said: “I welcome the fact that the length of time patients have to wait for an outpatient appointment is beginning to fall. However, there are still far too many patients waiting much too long. I am determined that, by March 2007, no-one will be waiting more than six months for their first outpatient appointment. It is therefore necessary to redouble our efforts to take forward the outpatient reforms announced earlier this year.”
(EF)
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The latest figures from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) have revealed that by March hospital waiting lists in Northern Ireland have dropped by almost 6,000 over the last twelve months. The statistics also showed that a total of 41,495, were still waiting for treatment by the end of March 2006, a drop of 7.
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