Some patients waiting over a decade for medical procedures in Northern Ireland new figures reveal

The longest time any patient has been waiting for a procedure is 554 weeks, equivalent to 10 years and seven months, for plastic surgery in the South Eastern Health Trust area.

The figure has come to light thanks to a question asked by TUV MLA Timothy Gaston about the length of waiting lists for inpatient/daycase procedures.

Mr Gaston had submitted the question at the Assembly to the minister for health.

In its response to Mr Gaston this week, the Department of Health revealed the figure above, as well as the fact that another patient has been waiting 551 weeks, or 10-and-a-half years, for an orthopaedic treatment in the Belfast Health Trust area.

Meanwhile another patient has been waiting 499 weeks for a urology procedure in the Southern Health Trust area, or some nine-and-a-half years.

Mr Gaston also asked questions about how long it takes to get hip and knee replacements.

Figures came back for three trusts: the Southern, Western, and Belfast.

In the Southern trust, 109 patients (or about 14% of the total) have been waiting over four years for a hip replacement.

In the Western trust it is 130 patients (or about 10% of the total) and in Belfast it is 34 patients (less than 2% of the total).

When it came to knee replacements, in the Southern Trust there are 261 patients waiting over four years (about 24% of the total), in the Western Trust it is 335 patients (about 14% of the total), while in the Belfast Trust it is 126 (about 4%).

As well as providing the figures above, the health minister Mike Nesbitt also added: “Current waiting times are unacceptable and no one should have to wait longer than necessary for the surgery they need.

"While good progress has been made in tackling waiting times in some areas, there remains much more to be done.

"Within the constraints of existing budgets, I’m committed to taking whatever actions I can to tackle these waiting times and ensure that patients are treated as quickly as possible to ensure best possible outcomes.”

On the subject of joint replacements specifically, Mr Nesbitt said: “Earlier this year a bid was made by my department for £135m to help reduce elective waiting lists, including orthopaedics. Unfortunately, this bid was not supported, which was a missed opportunity to improve our waiting lists.”

Mr Gaston said: “These figures expose the fact that while our waiting times are horrendous they are actually much worse than often suggested by the published data.

"Significantly, the program for government offers nothing more than platitudes on this issue. And while it is claimed that a return of devolution would ensure local ministers sorted out such matters, the track record of Stormont is abysmal when it comes to health with waiting times – growing year-on-year since devolution came back in the Paisley / McGuinness era.”