Ms Tracey Conroy:

It is important to acknowledge that, when we look at the waiting list action plan approach since September 2021, we can see that we have really made very significant progress in reducing both the number of patients on waiting lists and, importantly and as Mr. Gloster mentioned earlier, the length of time that people are waiting. I will give a couple of examples of that. Since September 2021, the weighted average time on waiting lists in total has reduced by 44%, from 12.2 months to 6.8 months. Over the same period, the weighted average waiting time for outpatients decreased from 12.8 months to 6.9 months, a fall of 46%. The weighted average waiting time for inpatient day cases decreased from 9.1 months to 7 months, a 23% fall.

The weighted average waiting time for gastrointestinal scopes fell from 6.9 months to 3.6 months, a 47% decrease in that period. Those improvements have been achieved with a backdrop of increased demand for scheduled care services. While we are seeing activity being delivered in acute hospitals, increasing, higher demand and referrals have resulted in the volume of patients waiting remaining high. From our perspective, the focus is on longer term reforms, which we are adhering to. When we talk about outsourcing and insourcing here today, we are focused on the longer term approach, with the objective of continually making progress on reducing the length of time that people are waiting.

We will take that same approach next year with the new waiting list action plan, which builds on that progress. I see Ms Sheila McGuinness is not here, but she and the team have put significant work into that in conjunction with all the regional executive officers. We are seeing traction and have seen significant reform over the last years under that approach.