Robin Swann reveals £700m plan to tackle NI hospital waiting lists
The Health Minister wants long waits to be fully banished by March 2026
Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann has unveiled a £700 million plan to tackle Northern Ireland's staggering waiting lists.
The five-year strategy is based on a twin-track approach of investment and reform.
There are currently more than 335,000 waiting on a first consultant-led appointment in NI, with some facing waits of up to seven years for treatment.
Mr Swann unveiled his proposed Elective Care Framework detailing his roadmap at the Stormont Assembly today (Tuesday).
He said: “I realise this is a big ask at a time when there are many financial demands on our public sector.
“However, we should have no illusions that this is a crisis that has already dragged on far too long. The time for talk is over. What we need now is concerted action.''
This framework contains a range of short term, medium term, and longer-term actions.
What is the plan?
The plans include implementation of “green pathways” with every effort made to keep elected care services entirely separate from any exposure to COVID-19.
Expansion of the elective care centre model with surgeries provided in ring fenced specialist hubs.
A relentless regional NI-wide approach rather than a disjointed postcode lottery system.
Delivery of mega clinics for outpatient, assessment, and pre-operative assessment clinics; improved data, reporting and accountability.
Continued focus on performance management.
Ongoing close cooperation with the independent sector.
development of in-house HSC capacity including continued investment in staffing and use of temporary, enhanced rates for targeted shifts.
What will happen in the Short, medium and Long Term?
Short Term
From next month the Health Minister will introduce enhanced rates of pay for staff working in targeted shifts and delivering priority elective activity to fully maximise internal-HSC capacity.
The establishment of a new cross-border healthcare scheme to allow patients to receive treatment in the Republic’s established private sector and then to seek reimbursement up to the cost of the equivalent treatment to the HSC in Northern Ireland. This scheme will be operating within weeks.
- Mega clinics for orthopaedic outpatients, for cataract assessments and for a range of pre-operative assessments will be developed and in place by September.
Whilst such clinics may entail some patients being asked to travel slightly further than the otherwise would have, they will improve the numbers of patients seen and very importantly – the speed at which they are seen.
Medium term actions
A detailed proposal of a rapid diagnostic centre, or centres, for Northern Ireland by March.
A redesign of endoscopy services, including the likely possibility of a new regional endoscopy centre to deliver high volume scopes.
A specific focus on reducing missed appointments – or the so-called DNAs.
A new policy where the Trust booking teams will begin contacting all patients prior to surgery to ensure all slots are fully utilised.
Longer term actions
A clear movement towards a 7-day working week for our hospital theatres.
The policy decision that NI will move to the new referral to treatment waiting times measurements, which mirrors the waiting times process already in place across the rest of the UK.
Digital innovations, such electronic prescribing in primary care, will be rolled out in order to deliver maximum benefits to elective care services.
Mr Swann added: “These are just some of the examples of a suite of initiatives. It will take all these and many more to properly turn the situation around.
“I want long waits to have been fully banished by March 2026.
“The Framework sets a target for March 2026 of no patient waiting more than 52 weeks for a first outpatient appointment and inpatient/day case treatment; or 26 weeks for a diagnostics appointment.
“If we can bring forward this timeline we will obviously do so, but we have to acknowledge the scale of the problem that has built up and the capacity restrictions that will limit our room for manoeuvre.
“For example, there are currently almost 190,000 patients waiting more than a year for their first outpatient appointment.
“This is almost five times as many as when the abortive 2017 Elective Care Plan was published.
“The plans include crucial and sustained investment in building up the in-house capacity of our health service.
“If we don’t eradicate the gap between demand and capacity then the backlogs in care will keep re-occurring. Up until 2014, the gap was managed through in year funding injections to facilitate additional activity. Those monies have been in shorter supply since then and waiting times have climbed relentlessly as a result.
“Investment and reform are now both required - targeted investment to get many more people treated as quickly as possible; reform to ensure the long-term problems of capacity and productivity are properly addressed.”
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