Northern Ireland Inpatient and Day Case Waiting Time Statistics
National Statistics
All statistics contained within this publication are National Statistics except for statistics relating to Day Case Procedure Centre waiting lists and inpatient activity.
Published by: Information & Analysis
Directorate, Department of Health
Statisticians: Adam Robinson, Jenny Finlay & Liz
Graham
Contact: statistics@health-ni.gov.uk
Reporting Date: 30 September 2023
Publication Date: 30 November 2023
Date of Next Publication: 29 February 2024
Coverage: Northern Ireland
Frequency: Quarterly
This statistical release presents information on waiting times for admission for inpatient or day case treatment in Northern Ireland and reports on the performance of the Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts against the draft waiting time target, which states that:
“55% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks for inpatient/day case treatment; with no patient waiting longer than 52 weeks.”
Information is detailed on the number of patients waiting and length of time waiting by HSC Trust and specialty. Provisional statistics on inpatient and day case activity are also included.
All of the data contained in this release have been published in CSV format in order to aid secondary analysis. These are available at the following links:
https://data.nisra.gov.uk/product/HWTS
Throughout this report comparisons are made to the previous quarter (30 June 2023) and to the same date last year (30 September 2022) and five years ago (30 September 2018).
Statistics in this report refer to the number of patients waiting and the length of time they had been waiting as at the reporting date. They do not indicate completed waiting times or expected future waiting times.
Revision Notice
Statistics as at 31 March 2020: Revised 30 November 2023
Figures for the split of patients by weeks waiting as at 31 March 2020 have been revised slightly since they were first published on 28 May 2020. This revision is necessary due to a processing error in allocating patients to time bands for the number of weeks waiting.
The impact of this revision is minimal and the total number of patients waiting and breakdowns by Specialty and HSC Trust are unaffected.
The revised figures have been incorporated into this release. The impacted section is Performance against Targets in the publication and the split by weeks waiting in the accompanying CSV data file. The revision is made clear in both places.
The following table summarises the published and amended figures:
Patients waiting for inpatient or day case admission by weeks waiting, 31 March 2020
Weeks Waiting | Patients Waiting | Change | |
Published 28 May 2020 | Revised 30 Nov 2023 | ||
0 - 6 | 13,567 | 14,056 | 489 |
>6 - 13 | 14,305 | 13,991 | -314 |
>13 - 21 | 10,506 | 10,653 | 147 |
>21 - 26 | 6,247 | 6,204 | -43 |
>26 - 52 | 21,235 | 21,089 | -146 |
>52 | 31,075 | 30,942 | -133 |
Total | 96,935 | 96,935 | 0 |
Key Figures
Inpatient and Day Case Waiting Times
A total of 115,929 patients were waiting for inpatient or day case admission to hospitals in Northern Ireland, 2.7% (3,166) fewer than on 30 June 2023 (119,095), and 8.4% (10,573) less than on 30 September 2022 (126,502).
53.0% of patients were waiting for admission under the General Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedics (T&O) Surgery or Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialties.
The median waiting time was 55.7 weeks, a decrease from 58.0 weeks on 30 June 2023.
The 95 percentile waiting time was 280.7 weeks, an increase from 273.0 weeks on 30 June 2023.
78.6% (91,131) of patients were waiting more than 13 weeks for admission, compared with 77.8% (92,713) on 30 June 2023 and 79.8% (100,893) on 30 September 2022.
51.9% (60,161) of patients were waiting more than 52 weeks for admission, compared with 52.8% (62,856) on 30 June 2023 and 54.8% (69,321) on 30 September 2022.
Inpatient and Day Case Waiting List
On 30 September 2023, there were 115,929 patients waiting for inpatient or day case admission to hospitals in Northern Ireland.
The number of patients waiting has decreased by 2.7% (3,166) from 30 June 2023 and by 8.4% (10,573) from 30 September 2022.
Patients can be waiting for more than one inpatient or day case admission. The figure of 115,929 patients waiting refers to the number of patient pathways and is the total number of admissions being waited on. This relates to approximately 107,000 individuals.
Figure 1: Patients Waiting for an Inpatient or Day Case Admission
30 September 2007 to 30 September 2023
This line chart shows that the number of patients waiting rose steadily from 47,223 on 30 September 2013 to 127,541 on 30 June 2022. It has since decreased to 115,929 on 30 September 2023.
Waiting List by Specialty
On 30 September 2023, the largest waiting lists were for General Surgery (24,591 patients) and T & O Surgery (24,006 patients).
ENT, General Medicine, Urology, Ophthalmology, Gynaecology and Gastroenterology specialties also had more than 5,000 patients on their waiting lists.
Since 30 September 2022, the General Medicine waiting list showed the largest growth (1,096 additional patients) and General Surgery showed the largest reduction (3,482 fewer patients).
Of specialties with at least 500 patients waiting, the greatest proportionate growth was in the GP Other specialty which grew by 19.9% (292 patients). The greatest proportionate reduction was in the Gastroenterology specialty, with 17.4% (1,215) fewer patients.
Figure 2: Patients Waiting for an Inpatient or Day Case Admission by Specialty
30 September 2023 compared with 30 September 2022
The bar chart above shows the number of patients waiting for admission under each specialty on 30 September 2023, with markers comparing numbers on 30 September 2022. Only specialties with at least 500 patients waiting are shown.
Median and 95th Percentile Waiting Times
The median waiting time is the middle value when all patients are ordered by length of time waiting. This is preferred over the mean as an average of waiting times because waiting times tend to be skewed by longer waits and therefore more patients are waiting for less time than the mean.
The 95th percentile waiting time is the length of time that 95% of patients have been waiting equal to or less than i.e. one in twenty patients have been waiting longer than this time. The 95th percentile is used as an indication of the range of current waiting times without being distorted by extreme values or the prioritisation of urgent waits.
On 30 September 2023, the median waiting time for all patients was 55.7 weeks (approximately 1 year and 4 weeks) and the 95th percentile was 280.7 weeks (approximately 5 years and 21 weeks).
Figure 3: Median and 95th Percentile Waiting Times
30 June 2007 to 30 September 2023
This line chart shows that the median waiting time increased gradually from 12.1 weeks at 31 March 2016 to 29.1 weeks at 31 March 2020. There was then a sharp increase to 77.4 weeks on 30 September 2021 and since then a gradual decrease to 55.7 weeks on 30 September 2023.
The 95th percentile has increased steadily from 32.9 weeks at 31 March 2014 to 280.7 weeks on 30 September 2023.
Waiting Times by Specialty
There is a large variation in median and 95th percentile waiting times across different specialties. Low medians relative to the 95th percentile can be an indication of large numbers of patients recently joining a list or a greater proportion of urgent patients within a specialty.
Figure 4: Median and 95th Percentile Waiting Time by Specialty
30 September 2023
The bar chart above shows the median and 95th percentile waiting times for specialties where at least 500 patients were waiting for admission on 30 September 2023. The longest median waiting time was 116.6 weeks in the Plastic Surgery specialty. ENT also had a median waiting time greater than 2 years, at 104.6 weeks.
One in twenty (5%) patients waiting for Plastic Surgery, ENT, Urology, T&O Surgery, General Surgery or Gynaecology admissions had been waiting over 5 years.
Performance against Targets
Revision Notice
Statistics as at 31 March 2020: Revised 30 November 2023
Figures for the split of patients by weeks waiting as at 31
March 2020 have been revised slightly since they were first published on
28 May 2020.
The following table summarises the published and amended figures:
Patients waiting for inpatient or day case admission by weeks waiting, 31 March 2020
Weeks Waiting | Published 28 May 2020 | Revised 30 November 2023 | Change | |||
Patients Waiting | % of Total | Patients Waiting | % of Total | Patients Waiting | % of Total (pp) | |
Under 13 Weeks | 27,872 | 28.8% | 28,047 | 28.9% | 175 | 0.1 |
Over 13 Weeks | 69,063 | 71.2% | 68,888 | 71.1% | -175 | -0.1 |
Under 52 Weeks | 65,860 | 67.9% | 65,993 | 68.1% | 133 | 0.2 |
Over 52 Weeks | 31,075 | 32.1% | 30,942 | 31.9% | -133 | -0.2 |
Total | 96,935 | 100.0% | 96,935 | 100.0% | 0 | 0 |
The draft waiting times target states that 55% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks for inpatient/day case treatment; with no patient waiting longer than 52 weeks.
Note that this target was introduced in 2016/17.
Figure 5: Patients Waiting Under 13 Week Target
30 June 2016 to 30 September 2023
The line and stacked bar charts above illustrate the percentage and number of patients waiting less than 13 weeks at the end of each quarter between 30 June 2016 and 30 September 2023.
Across this period the target of 55% of patients waiting less than 13 weeks was not achieved, with the lowest proportion under 13 weeks being 11.0% (11,103 of 100,826 patients) on 30 June 2020.
On 30 September 2023, 21.4% of patients (24,798 of 115,929) were waiting less than 13 weeks, an increase from 20.2% (25,609 of 126,502) on 30 September 2022 and a decrease from 33.2% (28,602 of of 86,219) on 30 September 2018.
Figure 6: Patients Waiting Over 52 Week Target
30 June 2016 to 30 September 2023
The line and stacked bar charts above illustrate the percentage and number of patients waiting over 52 weeks at the end of each quarter between 30 June 2016 and 30 September 2023.
Across this period the target of no patients waiting longer than 52 weeks was not achieved, with the highest proportion over 52 weeks being 61.4% (70,564 of 114,950 patients) at 31 March 2021.
On 30 September 2023, 51.9% of patients (60,161 of 115,929) were waiting longer than 52 weeks, a decrease from 54.8% (69,321 of 126,502) on 30 September 2022 and an increase from 22.9% (19,715 of 86,219) on 30 September 2018.
Performance by HSC Trust
Draft target: 55% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks and no patient should wait longer than 52 weeks for inpatient or day case treatment.
Data shown in this section indicates the Health and Social Care Trust responsible for a patient’s care. As Day Case Procedure Centres are a regional service, they have been reported separately from HSC Trusts.
Figure 7: Waiting Times by HSC Trust and Day Case Procedure Centres
30 September 2023
The proportionate stacked bar chart above breaks down the length of time patients have been waiting by the Health and Social Care Trust responsible for their service.
No Trust met the target to have 55% of patients waiting less than 13 weeks, nor the target to have no patients waiting longer than 52 weeks.
Between 16.5% and 36.0% of patients were waiting less than 13 weeks in each HSC Trust and between 31.9% and 59.0% were waiting longer than 52 weeks.
Inpatient and Day Case Activity
Provisional Statistics
Admissions data are fully validated once per year. Statistics in this section are subject to revision in subsequent releases and do not hold National Statistics status.
Fully validated inpatient and day case activity statistics are published annually at the following link:
https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/inpatient-and-day-case-activity
Between 1 July and 30 September 2023 there were 42,051 admissions commissioned by the health service, of which 18.8% (7,897) were admitted to independent sector providers commissioned by the health service and the remaining 81.2% (34,154) treated within health service hospitals.
Figure 8: Inpatient and Day Case Admissions Commissioned by HSC Trusts
Quarter Ending June 2011 to Quarter Ending September 2023
The bar chart above indicates the number of patients admitted within each quarter between 1 April 2011 and 30 September 2023. The number of patients being admitted increased steadily from 14,361 in quarter ending June 2020 to 45,271 March 2023, but reduced to 42,051 in quarter ending September 2023. The number of patients admitted in the quarter ending September 2023 is 11.3% (5,336 patients) lower compared to the quarter ending June 2011 and 2.7% (1,161 patients) lower than the quarter ending September 2018.
Data Sources, Quality and Guidance
Data sources
The sources of the data contained in this release are the HSC Trust’s Patient Administration Systems, the DoH Inpatient Waiting Times Dataset, the Hospital Inpatient System and the DoH IS1 Return.
Inpatient / day case admission
Inpatient and day case waiting list data comprise the number of patients waiting for inpatient and day case admission to hospital.
Inpatient admissions are patients admitted electively with the expectation that they will remain in hospital for at least one night.
Day case admissions are patients admitted electively with the expectation that although they may require supervised recovery, they do not require the use of a hospital bed overnight and will return home as scheduled the same day.
Measurement of waiting times
Statistics in this report refer to the number of patients waiting and the length of time they had been waiting as at the reporting date. They do not indicate completed waiting times or expected future waiting times. Waiting time begins from the date the clinician decided to admit the patient.
Patients who cannot attend or miss their appointment have their waiting time recorded from the date they informed the HSC Trust that they could not attend or the date of the missed appointment.
Patients suspended for medical or social reasons as at the reporting date are not included in the statistics. If re-instated, the period of suspension is excluded from the waiting time.
Time bands relate to the number of completed weeks a patient has been waiting for admission. For example, a patient waiting exactly 6 weeks would be included in the 0-6 week time band and a patient waiting 6 weeks and 1 day would be included in the 6-13 week time band.
Day Case Procedure Centres
From February 2019, Day Case Procedure Centres (DPCs) are being introduced to deliver large volumes of non-complex routine surgery.
Patients waiting for specific non-urgent surgical treatments can be referred to a DPC for treatment rather than attend the hospital site they may ordinarily have been referred to.
Patients waiting for admission to a Day Case Procedure Centre are included in these statistics.
As these services are managed on a regional basis, patients are not allocated as waiting at a particular HSC Trust and where a Trust split is used in these statistics, the patients are instead reported separately against Day Case Procedure Centres.
Patients with multiple waits
Some patients will be on more than one waiting list or be on the same waiting list for more than one admission due to having multiple conditions. Such patients are counted more than once depending on how many times they are waiting.
There is a known overlap of patients waiting for diagnostic endoscopies that will be managed as an inpatient/day case admission. These are included in both the inpatient and day case waiting time and diagnostic waiting time figures. Due to the risk of multiple counting, these two sets of data should not be combined to give an estimate of the total number of patients waiting for admission or a diagnostic service.
Patients resident outside Northern Ireland and private patients
Statistics on patients waiting for inpatient and day case admission include patients living outside Northern Ireland and privately funded patients waiting for treatment in Health Service hospitals in Northern Ireland.
Exclusions
Inpatient and day case waiting list figures do not include:
• Patients admitted as emergency cases
• Patients waiting for planned admission i.e. patients given proposed date of admission determined by social or clinical criteria
• Patients undergoing a planned programme of treatment e.g. a series of admissions for chemotherapy
• Patients waiting for admission as a regular day or night attender
• Patients waiting for maternity specialties (except where the intention is to terminate the pregnancy)
• Patients waiting who are currently admitted for another reason
• Patients who are temporarily suspended for medical or social reasons
Inpatient and day case activity
Provisional statistics on inpatient and day case activity are presented to provide contextual information in relation to waiting lists.
Hospital data are sourced from the Hospital Inpatient System and Independent Sector data are provided by the Strategic Planning and Performance Group in the Department of Health.
These data are not National Statistics and have not been validated or quality assured by HSC Trusts prior to publication.
Data quality is addressed on an ongoing basis and figures are subject to revision in subsequent publications as hospital records may not be fully up to date as at the publication date.
Provisional statistics on inpatient and day case activity do not include:
• Planned patients
• Emergency patients
• Other patients not admitted from a waiting list e.g. transferred patients
Further technical guidance
Technical guidance and definitions, as well as notes on how to use the data contained within this statistical release are available at the following link: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/inpatient-waiting-times
Additional Information and Data
Data from this publication
Data detailed in this publication are also available on the NISRA Data Portal and in CSV format to aid secondary analysis.
The Data Portal allows users to filter results, plot interactive charts and read data via API queries and to download data in CSV, XLSX, JSON-stat and PX formats. It can be accessed at the following link: https://data.nisra.gov.uk/product/HWTS
CSV files are available to download at the following link: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/northern-ireland-waiting-time-statistics-inpatient-and-day-case-waiting-times-september-2023
Other waiting times publications
Statistics on waiting times for outpatients, diagnostic services, cancer and emergency care are available at the following link: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/doh-statistics-and-research/hospital-waiting-times-statistics
National Statistics
The United Kingdom Statistics
Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics, in
accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and
signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.
It is the Department of Health’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained and reinstated when standards are restored.
The statistics underwent a full assessment against the Code of Practice in 2011. Designation was awarded in March 2013.
Since the assessment by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Further information on the Code of Practice for Statistics is available at: https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk
Accessibility contact
Please contact Hospital Information Branch for assistance with accessibility requirements or alternative formats.
Email: statistics@health-ni.gov.uk
Copyright
This publication is Crown copyright and may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium. Any material used must be acknowledged, and the title of the publication specified.