MLA slams ‘cruel’ three-year Belfast hospital waiting times

FIGURES revealing that patients have been waiting more than three years for hospital appointments have been condemned as “downright cruel”.

The latest quarterly statistics from the Department of Health show over 73,000 people across Northern Ireland had been waiting for a first consultant-led appointment for longer than the target of 52 weeks.

Now, figures obtained by the Ulster Unionist Party under Freedom of Information legislation, reveal that in October at least 40 patients in the Belfast Trust area were waiting over three years for appointments.

UUP health spokesperson Roy Beggs called the numbers “frightening” and warned the increased waiting times put more pressure on other services.

The statistical break down of waiting times was conducted across different departments in Belfast hospitals on October 19.

They include 10 patients who waited over three-and-a-half years (1,330 days) for neurological appointments, with nine at Belfast City Hospital and one at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Ten patients also waited over three-and-a-half years for mental health appointments at the Mater Hospital while another patient waited for more than five years (2,086 days) to be seen at Windsor House in the City Hospital. For immunology appointments at the Royal, a further 10 patients waited over three years (1,095 days). Vascular surgery