Funding needed to fight 'scourge' of NI waiting lists

Without significant and recurrent funding from the executive, it could take up to 10 years to tackle Northern Ireland's current waiting lists.

Health Minister Robin Swann told the Stormont assembly that too many people are waiting "too long for treatment".

He said that without a joint executive approach, NI will be "fighting the scourge of waiting lists with at least one hand tied behind its back".

Northern Ireland has the worst waiting times of any UK region.

In Northern Ireland, more than 300,000 people are waiting for a first consultant appointment.

The Department of Health (DoH) estimated that it could take five to 10 years to tackle current lists, which are increasing daily.

Mr Swann said the present funding model is not "fit for purpose" and instead called for a multi-year budget approach.

"Who does not have a loved one, a friend or a relative who at some point either now or in the future will need to access an elective procedure. We as a house owe it to all our citizens to tackle the elective waiting lists," he said.

The DoH said to address the "burning issue" of waiting lists, a number of consultations will be published in due course including a cancer recovery plan and an elective care framework.

The statement also addressed the need for more staff which Mr Swann said is problematic to plan for when there is not the recurrent allocation of funds.

There were calls across the assembly for party politics to be set aside in tackling the reform of the health service.

MLAs were told that rebuilding services was about getting patients a pathway to treatment as "quickly as possible" as opposed to as "closely as possible".