National Statistics
All statistics contained within this publication are National Statistics except for outpatient activity statistics.
Published by: Information & Analysis
Directorate, Department of Health
Statisticians: Brian Reilly, Jenny Finlay & Liz
Graham
Contact: statistics@health-ni.gov.uk
Reporting Date: 31 March 2024
Publication Date: 30 May 2024
Date of Next Publication: 29 August 2024
Coverage: Northern Ireland
Frequency: Quarterly
On 9th November 2023 the South Eastern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust launched “Encompass” - a new electronic patient record system. Its roll out across the other Trusts will follow on a phased basis throughout 2024/25. Consequently, the data for South Eastern as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024 was not available at the time of this publication, as the Trust transitions to completely digitised health records. Therefore, charts and figures presented throughout this report have excluded patients waiting for a first outpatient appointment in the South Eastern Trust to allow comparisons to be made for the four remaining HSC Trusts compared with previous time points. As such, any NI level figures presented throughout this report only include those for Belfast, Northern, Southern and Western HSC Trusts.
This statistical release presents information on waiting times for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment in Northern Ireland and reports on the performance of the Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts against the draft waiting times target, which states that:
“50% of patients should wait no longer than nine weeks for a first outpatient appointment; 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 outpatient activity are also included.
All of the data contained in this release are published on the NISRA Data Portal and in CSV format to facilitate secondary analysis. These are available at the following links:
https://data.nisra.gov.uk/product/HWTS
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.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust as data was not available as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
356,229 patients were waiting for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment at hospitals in the Belfast, Northern, Southern and Western HSC Trusts on 31 March 2024, 4.2% (14,319) more than than on 31 December 2023 (341,910), and 12.9% (40,673) more than on 31 March 2023 (315,556).
53.9% of patients were waiting for an appointment under the General Surgery, Ophthalmology, ENT, Gynaecology or Dermatology specialties.
The median waiting time was 51.3 weeks and the 95th percentile waiting time was 262.6 weeks.
82.7% (294,701) of patients were waiting more than nine weeks for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment on 31 March 2024, compared with 84.1% (287,475) on 31 December 2023 and 80.4% (253,764) on 31 March 2023.
48.5% (172,789) of patients were waiting more than 52 weeks for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment on 31 March 2024, compared with 47.8% (163,561) on 31 December 2023 and 46.9% (147,887) on 31 March 2023.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust as data was not available for the positon as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024. However, the previously published time series including all Trusts up to 30 September 2023 has been included in Figure 1 to provide context.
As at 31 March 2024, there were 356,229 patients waiting for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment at hospitals in the Belfast, Northern, Southern and Western Trusts.
The number of patients waiting has increased by 4.2% (14,319) from 31 December 2023 and increased by 12.9% (40,673) from 31 March 2023.
This line chart shows that the number of patients waiting has risen steadily from 83,292 on 31 March 2013 to 356,229 on 31 March 2024.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust from both time points as data was not available for the position as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
At 31 March 2024, the largest waiting lists were for General Surgery (48,528 patients) and Ophthalmology (46,389 patients).
Of specialties with at least 5,000 patients waiting, the greatest proportionate growth was in the Oral Surgery specialty, which grew by 74.6% (2,832 patients). The greatest proportionate reduction was in the Rheumatology specialty, with 5.8% (833) fewer patients.
The bar chart above shows the number of patients waiting for an appointment in each specialty at 31 March 2024, with markers comparing numbers at 31 March 2023. Only specialties with at least 5,000 patients waiting are shown.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust from the entire time series as data was not available for the position as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
Exclusions From This Analysis
Paedaetrics, Genito-Urinary Medicine, Learning Disabilty and Old Age Psychiatry specialties are excluded from this analysis due to limited data availability.
Information required to produce this analysis is not available prior to 30 June 2020.
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.
At 31 March 2024, the median waiting time for a first outpatient appointment was 51.3 weeks and the 95th percentile was 262.6 weeks (approximately 5 years and 2 weeks).
This line chart shows that the median waiting time has increased from 42.0 weeks at 30 June 2020 to a peak of 58.3 weeks at 31 March 2021 then decreased to 51.3 weeks at 31 March 2024. The 95th percentile waiting time has increased steadily from 166.0 weeks at 30 June 2020 to 262.6 weeks at 31 March 2024.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust as data was not available for the position as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
Exclusions From This Analysis
Paedaetrics, Genito-Urinary Medicine, Learning Disability and Old Age Psychiatry specialties are excluded from this analysis due to limited data availability.
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.
The bar chart above shows the median and 95th percentile waiting times for specialties where at least 5,000 patients were waiting for appointments at 31 March 2024. The longest median waiting time was 108.7 weeks in the Oral Surgery specialty.
Rheumatology, Neurology, Oral Surgery, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, General Surgery, Thoracic Medicine and Plastic Surgery specialties all had median waiting times over 1 year.
At least one in twenty (5%) patients waiting for Rheumatology, Neurology, Oral Surgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, General Medicine, Dermatology or Geriatric Medicine had been waiting over 5 years.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust from the entire time series as data was not available for the position as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
The draft waiting times target states that 50% of patients should wait no longer than 9 weeks for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment; with no patient waiting longer than 52 weeks.
This target was introduced in 2016/17.
The line and stacked bar charts above illustrate the percentage and number of patients waiting less than 9 weeks 30 June 2016 to 31 March 2024.
Across this period the target of 50% of patients waiting less than 9 weeks was not achieved, with the highest proportion under 9 weeks being 35.4% (64,205 of 181,353 patients) at 30 June 2016.
As at 31 March 2024, 17.3% of patients were waiting less than 9 weeks, a decrease from 19.6% at 31 March 2023 and a decrease from 27.9% at 31 March 2019.
The line and stacked bar charts above illustrate the percentage and number of patients waiting over 52 weeks from 30 June 2016 to 31 March 2024.
Across this period the target of no patients waiting longer than 52 weeks was not achieved, with the highest proportion over 52 weeks being 54.5% (149,992 of 275,121 patients) at 31 March 2021.
At 31 March 2024, 48.5% of patients were waiting longer than 52 weeks, an increase from 46.9% at 31 March 2023 and an increase from 31.8% in 31 March 2019.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust as data was not available for the position as at 31 March 2024.
Draft target: 50% of patients should wait no longer than 9 weeks and no patient should wait longer than 52 weeks for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment.
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.
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 50% of patients waiting less than 9 weeks, nor the target to have no patients waiting longer than 52 weeks.
Provisional Statistics
Outpatient attendance 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 outpatient activity statistics are published annually at the following link:
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust from the entire time series as data was not available for the quarter ending 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
Between 01 January and 31 March 2024, there were 95,351 attendances at first outpatient appointments, of which 1.3% (1,224) were at independent sector providers commissioned by HSC Trusts and the remaining 98.7% (94,127) at HSC Trust hospitals.
The bar chart above indicates the number of patients who attended first outpatient appointments in each quarter between June 2008 and March 2024. The number of patients attending remained steady from 2008 to March 2020. A sharp decrease was observed in June 2020 and since then activity has risen steadily and has almost returned to prior levels.
Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services (ICATS) are outpatient services provided by multi-disciplinary teams of health service professionals. They provide assessment, treatment and advisory services in a variety of primary, community and secondary care settings. Patients who do not require urgent treatment are referred to ICATS teams, if the patient’s condition requires the attention of a consultant, arrangements are made for the patient to be referred for a hospital outpatient appointment.
As ICATS services are not consultant-led, patients waiting for an ICATS appointment are not included in the statistics for consultant-led outpatient services presented in the sections above.
Figures in this section exclude the South Eastern Trust as data was not available for the position as at 31 December 2023 and 31 March 2024.
At 31 March 2024, there were 18,833 patients waiting for a first ICATS outpatient appointment. The number of patients waiting has increased by 1.3% (236) from 31 December 2023 and increased by 3.6% (661) from 31 March 2023.
This line chart shows that the number of patients waiting for a first ICATS outpatient appointment rose steadily from 4,873 on 30 June 2011 to 19,518 on 30 September 2022 and has remained steady since.
Data sources
The sources for the data contained
in this release are the HSC Trust’s Patient Administration Systems, the
DoH Outpatient Waiting Times Dataset and the DoH CH3, QOAR, R-QOAR,
V-QOAR and IS1 returns.
First consultant-led
outpatient appointment
An outpatient appointment is to
enable a patient to see a consultant or a member of their team following
an outpatient referral. The majority of referrals will be from a GP
however they may also be received from a range of other sources.
These appointments provide an opportunity for consultation,
investigation and minor treatment. Appointments can be face-to-face or
virtual and patients are not admitted into hospital.
A first
attendance is the first of a series or the only attendance at an
outpatient service.
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 for a first outpatient
appointment begins on the date the HSC Trust receives a referral to a
consultant-led service.
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 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 6-9 week time band.
Reporting patients against Health and Social Care
Trusts
A number of services may not be provided at a
patient’s local HSC Trust, and instead are provided as centralised
services for Northern Ireland.
As patients are reported
against the HSC Trust responsible for the service to which they have
been referred, users should be aware of this when making comparisons
across Trusts.
In some cases a consultant from one HSC Trust
may provide a “visiting” service at another HSC Trust, and so the
patient may not be reported at the HSC Trust at which they attend.
Patients are reported against the HSC Trust responsible for the service
to which they have been referred.
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 an outpatient appointment at
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 appointment due to having multiple conditions. Such patients
are counted more than once depending on how many times they are waiting.
Patients resident outside Northern Ireland and
private patients
Statistics on patients waiting for
outpatient appointments include patients living outside Northern Ireland
and privately funded patients waiting for treatment in Health Service
hospitals in Northern Ireland.
Outpatient
activity
Provisional statistics on outpatient activity are
presented to provide contextual information in relation to waiting
lists. Hospital data are sourced from the HSC Trusts 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 outpatient activity do not include:
•
ICATS appointments
• Ward attenders
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/outpatient-waiting-times
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-outpatient-waiting-times-march-2024
Other waiting times publications
Statistics on waiting times for inpatients, 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
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has accredited 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.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).
OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website Office for Statistics Regulation (https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk).
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.
In November 2021, the Office for Statistics Regulation conducted a compliance check on these statistics and confirmed that they should continue to be labelled as ‘accredited official statistics’. Further details can be found at: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/mark-pont-to-eugene-mooney-Northern-ireland-ni-outpatient-waiting-time-statistics/
In May 2022, the Office for Statistics Regulation extended the accredited official statistics to include Day Case Procedure Centre waiting times statistics.
Since the assessments 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://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/accredited-official-statistics/.
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.