NI waiting lists “will double in next five years” without reform or investment
NI's hospital waiting lists are already the worst in the UK
Northern Ireland's hospital waiting lists could double in five years without urgent intervention it has been warned.
Stormont ministers were briefed on the crisis yesterday (Monday) and were told that the number of people waiting for a first Consultant-led appointment could rise to between 600-700,000 by March 2026.
Politicians were also warned that the waiting times, which are already the worst in the UK, need urgent investment and reform.
There are currently more than 335,000 waiting on a first consultant-led appointment, with more than half of those people waiting longer than a year.
The department paper said the health service needs £707.5 million of additional investment over a five-year period to reduce the backlog of patients and to build service capacity to meet annual demand.
It also outlined that the current waiting lists have led to increased pressures on emergency departments across the region, as patients attempt to seek treatment via A&Es.
It stressed that pressures have been further exacerbated by increased numbers of Covid-19 admissions.
Rita Devlin, Acting Director of the Royal College of Nursing, said staff are already exhausted and can't take much more.
She said: “That’s some of our big concerns because a lot of our staff are telling us now that they’ve nothing left.
"That they are done.
“That they’ve given everything that they’ve got and my concern for our members is that we are facing people who are becoming totally burnt out.”
Ministers were also told that there is currently “insufficient capacity'' in the health and social care system to meet demand.
The briefing said that the “allocation of non-recurrent funding masks the underlying capacity deficit'' but this “does not allow for investment in our workforce or long-term planning''.
The briefing note said: “While non-recurrent funding has helped address the backlog in the past, when it stops, waiting times immediately start to rise.''
Ministers were told that the department needs an additional £475m spread over five years just to get rid of the current waiting lists backlog.
An additional £232m would then be required to rebuild the system to ensure that demand meets capacity, to increase training numbers and to target recruitment based on demand analysis.
Ministers were told that “some necessary changes will be politically challenging'' but that they would need the backing of the Executive if they were to succeed.
The briefing said that the department's intention is to clear the waiting list backlog by March 2026.
Ms Devlin said the current set up is not working and has “no wiggle room in the system for anything untoward”.
She added: “It takes the least thing for the service to fall over and what you have to do then is stop your routine operations and you have to stop your planned operations.”
Rea more:
Neurology inquiry: consultant will not be giving evidence
COVID-19: more ICU beds as NI hospitals deal with patient hike
COVID-19: two NI health trusts issue appeal for staffing help
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