Quarterly figures released today by the Department of Health show that hospital waiting lists across Northern Ireland remain far in excess of draft targets, with little sign of sustained improvement. The statistical bulletin covers outpatient, inpatient and day-case, and diagnostic services up to 30 June 2025. Data are available only for Belfast, Northern and South Eastern Health and Social Care Trusts; the Southern and Western Trusts have yet to publish validated figures following their recent move to the new encompass electronic patient-record system.
The numbers matter to anyone who relies on the Health and Social Care (HSC) system: long delays can prolong pain, postpone diagnosis and increase pressure on emergency departments. They also serve as a bellwether of wider workforce, funding and capacity issues facing the service.
Headline waiting-list pressures
- Outpatients – first consultant appointment
358,585 people were waiting, up 0.6% on the previous quarter. Median wait: 61.7 weeks. Draft target: half seen within nine weeks, none over 52 weeks.
• 85.3% had waited longer than nine weeks.
• 45.1% had waited longer than a year. - Inpatient and day-case admission
65,703 people were waiting, down 7.7% on March but still well above target. Median wait: 37.4 weeks.
• 69.8% had been waiting more than 13 weeks.
• 43% had been waiting over a year. - Diagnostic tests
164,798 patients were waiting, a 4.3% rise since March. Draft target: three-quarters seen within nine weeks, none beyond 26 weeks.
• 62.3% had waited more than nine weeks.
• 38.7% had waited over 26 weeks. - Diagnostic reporting times
Of 86,604 urgent tests carried out in the quarter, 69.6% were reported within two days, falling short of the 100% target.
The Department notes that figures derived from encompass are classed as “official statistics in development”. They provide a meaningful picture but are not directly comparable with legacy datasets. Full validation for the Southern and Western Trusts is expected in future bulletins.
What is missing or unclear
- There is no explanation of the underlying drivers behind the fluctuations in each list – for example, how much is due to new referrals, staffing shortages or theatre capacity.
- The bulletin does not set out a recovery trajectory or funded plan for meeting the draft targets, leaving readers uncertain about when – or if – performance will improve.
- Specialty-level data (orthopaedics, cardiology, mental health, etc.) are not included, making it difficult for patients to judge delays in their own area of care.
- Regional equity cannot be assessed because figures for two Trusts are absent. It would be helpful to know whether patients in those areas face longer or shorter waits.
- The bulletin references the roll-out of encompass but does not quantify how data quality issues linked to the system change may have affected reported waiting times.
Wider context and unanswered questions
Long waiting lists are not unique to Northern Ireland, but the scale is particularly stark. At 30 June 2025, roughly one in five people living in the region was awaiting an outpatient appointment. Comparable figures for England show about one in nine (NHS England RTT data, June 2025). Budget constraints, industrial action and recruitment challenges have all contributed, yet none are discussed in the bulletin.
The targets cited remain in draft form. In England, official Referral-to-Treatment targets apply; in Scotland and Wales, legal targets differ again. The lack of a finalised, executive-approved standard in Northern Ireland leaves accountability diffuse.
Questions for policymakers and the public
- What specific measures are planned to reduce outpatient waits from a median of 61.7 weeks to the nine-week target?
- Will validated data for Southern and Western Trusts, when published, materially change the regional picture – and if so, how will performance be reported consistently?
- How is the Department addressing workforce shortages that limit theatre sessions and diagnostic capacity?
- Why are specialty-level waiting times not published alongside the aggregate figures, given their importance to patients and clinicians?
- Could greater use of independent-sector capacity or cross-border cooperation help clear the backlog, and what safeguards would ensure equity of access?
Looking ahead
This bulletin confirms that Northern Ireland’s waiting-time crisis persists despite small quarterly shifts. Patients due to receive care should keep an eye on the next release, expected in December, when data from all five Trusts may be available. Equally important will be any parallel announcement of a funded recovery plan, workforce strategy or interim targets. Without those building blocks, today’s numbers are likely to remain worryingly familiar.