The number of patients nationwide waiting between six and 12 months for heart surgery has jumped by over 80%, despite a significant reduction recently in the overall number of people on waiting lists, new figures have shown.

Health Minister James Reilly's waiting list initiative, led by his Special Delivery Unit, has led to cuts in the total number of patients waiting over three months for treatment by 40% in 2012, and has made major inroads into numbers waiting over nine months and 12 months for procedures

However, latest specialty figures show that during the same period there was a significant growth last year in the number of people waiting for heart operations.

The figures show that the number of people waiting six to 12 months for cardio-thoracic surgery nationally grew from 41 in November 2011 to 75 in November 2012, a rise of 83%.

The numbers waiting three to six months for heart surgery over the same period grew from 72 to 80.

Overall numbers in all time categories waiting for heart operations increased from 268 to 308 from November 2011 to November 2012, an increase of 15%.

Figures provided to Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan in a recent Dail reply also show that the overall numbers on waiting lists for heart surgery have increased substantially over the past five years.

There were only 177 patients on heart surgery waiting lists in all time categories back in 2008, and there has been a fairly steady increase in numbers waiting since then.

The specialty figures also show that in orthopaedics, the numbers waiting three to six months for treatment grew from 1,522 to 1,925 between November 2011 and November 2012.

Overall numbers waiting longer than 12 months for treatment in all specialties fell from 907 to 37 in 2012, a reduction of 96%, while the numbers waiting between nine and 12 months fell from 4,212 to 72 over the same period, a drop of 98%.

Health Minister James Reilly has set a target for the end of 2013 of no adult patient having to wait more than eight months for a hospital procedure.