Health Minister Mike Nesbitt visited Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex to recognise the “excellent work” of staff tackling Northern Ireland’s hospital waiting lists. The visit highlighted the contribution of the hospital’s Regional Endoscopy Centre and Day Procedure Centre to reducing regional backlogs, as new quarterly statistics show continued reductions in waiting times across Health and Social Care (HSC) trusts.
Regional Centres Deliver Thousands of Procedures
The Omagh facilities form part of a regional network established under the Elective Care Framework to separate planned surgery from emergency care and improve efficiency. Between October 2020 and April 2026, the Omagh and Lagan Valley centres combined have treated more than 24,000 patients.
Key achievements highlighted during the ministerial visit include:
- The Regional Endoscopy Centre at Omagh—operating alongside its sister facility at Lagan Valley—has delivered approximately 20,000 endoscopy procedures since October 2022, providing urgent assessment capacity for suspected cancer pathways
- In 2025/26 alone, the Omagh Day Procedure Centre delivered 1,109 theatre sessions and treated 3,686 patients
- The standalone unit provides high-volume, low-complexity day procedures across Pain Management, Gynaecology, Urology, ENT, General Surgery, Ophthalmology and Mental Health
- Pre-operative assessment services are co-located on site to support safe day case care
Minister Praises ‘Professionalism and Commitment’
Speaking during the visit, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt thanked staff for their role in cutting waiting times, which remains a central commitment within the Executive’s Programme for Government.
He said:
“It has been a privilege to visit Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex and see first-hand the excellent work being delivered by staff in both the Regional Endoscopy Centre and Day Procedure Centre.
“What is being achieved here is making a real difference for patients and families. More people are receiving assessment, diagnostics, and treatment sooner, helping improve patient experience and outcomes.
“The achievements at Omagh Hospital show what can be accomplished through the professionalism, expertise and commitment of staff. Ensuring patients can receive timely care remains a key focus for me.
“I want to thank everyone working here for the contribution they are making every day. Their dedication is helping build trust and confidence in our health service.”
Mr Mark Gillespie, Director of Surgery, Paediatrics and Women’s Health at the Western Health and Social Care Trust, said:
“We are proud of what staff at Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex have achieved in delivering high-quality care for patients.
“The Regional Endoscopy Centre and Day Procedure Centre are helping improve patient pathways through earlier assessment and planned treatment across a range of areas.
“This progress reflects the commitment of staff and the Trust’s continued focus on delivering safe, effective and timely care.”
Progress Against Persistent Challenges
While the visit celebrated local successes, broader statistics reveal the scale of the challenge remaining. The quarterly figures for the period ending 31 March 2026 show that although lists are shrinking, no HSC Trust currently meets the draft ministerial waiting time targets.
Outpatient waiting lists fell to 510,680 patients by March 2026—a 3.1% reduction from December 2025. However, 85.1% of patients still waited longer than nine weeks for a first consultant-led appointment, and 54.1% waited more than a year. The median wait stood at 60.1 weeks.
For inpatient and day case treatment, waits dropped 5.3% to 82,568 patients. Yet 64% continued to wait beyond the 13-week target, with 35.5% waiting over 52 weeks.
The Department has recently ringfenced £80 million for the coming financial year to sustain momentum on reducing the longest waits. This follows the delivery of 385,182 additional assessments, diagnostics and treatments during 2025/26 through Programme for Government funding streams.
Questions for Policymakers
As the Executive prepares to allocate the new £80 million funding, several questions remain about the long-term sustainability of waiting list reductions:
- How will the £80 million be specifically distributed across the five HSC trusts to ensure equitable access, given that no trust currently meets the 52-week maximum target?
- With 276,312 outpatients still waiting over a year, what concrete workforce and infrastructure plans are needed to achieve the target of no patient waiting longer than 52 weeks?
- Can the successful hub-and-spoke model demonstrated at Omagh and Lagan Valley be replicated or expanded to other specialties or geographical areas to accelerate backlog clearance?
- Given that theatre utilisation has reached 86% regionally, how will the Department ensure sustained staffing levels to maintain current productivity rates without risking staff burnout?
- What measures are in place to validate that the recent reductions represent genuine patient treatment rather than administrative list management?
The visit underscores the Executive’s strategy of concentrating elective procedures in dedicated regional centres to improve efficiency and patient outcomes. While the Omagh facilities demonstrate what focused investment and regional collaboration can achieve, the forthcoming details of the £80 million funding allocation will be critical to determining whether this momentum can be maintained through 2026/27 and beyond.