An 11% reduction in the number of patients waiting longer than the agreed Slaintecare waiting times was recorded in 2023, according to Department of Health figures.

The Department said its target for the year was to achieve a 10% reduction in the number of patients spending more than 10/12 weeks on waiting lists.

2023 saw a reduction of almost one third (32%) on those waiting longer than 12 months. This equates to 54,000 patients. Since the Covid Peak those waiting longer than 12 months has reduced by 60%.

Last year was the second year in row that waiting lists fell. More than 177,000 more patients were removed from acute hospital waiting lists last year compared with 2022. The target of removing approximately 1.66 million patients from waiting lists in 2023 was exceeded by 5%, with around 1.74 million patients removed, according to the figures.

The average outpatient waiting time reduced from 9.7 months to 7.5 months. This represents a 23% reduction in 2023.