The number of patients on outpatient waiting lists increased for the second month in a row in February, after recording a major drop at the end of last year, new HSE figures show.

The numbers waiting between one and two years for an appointment at a public hospital clinic trebled between January 1 and the end of February.

The total number on outpatient lists at the end of last year was 300,752, but this had increased to 309,496 in January and to 323,304 by the end of February.

The total number waiting over a year for an outpatient appointment jumped from 4,937 to 13,438 between the end of 2013 and the end of February, an increase of 172%

And the numbers waiting between one and two years for an outpatient appointment increased from 3,990 at the end of last year to 12,025 by the end of February, a trebling of the list in the space of eight weeks.

The numbers waiting between two and four years for an appointment jumped from 903 to 1,270 between the end of December and the end of February.

Minister Reilly aimed to have no-one waiting over a year for an outpatient consultation by the end of 2013. The numbers were cut by over 50,000 between the end of November and the end of December last, mainly through the use of private hospital resources.

Mwanwhile, the waiting lsits for inpatient/day case operations and treatments are also spiralling.

While only four adult patients were waiting over nine months for treatment at the end of 2013, this increased to 1,764 waiting over eight months for care at the end of January and 3,490 at the end of February, the new figures show.

The total number of adults and children on treatment waiting lists was 44,870 at the end of December and 49,147 at the end of February.