Paediatric waiting lists in Northern Ireland are a “catastrophe,” say doctors

The number of children waiting for an outpatient appointment in Northern Ireland has increased by nearly 200% in just six years, according to a new report.1

In June 2016 there were 8170 ongoing waits at paediatric departments, but this rose to 22 272 by June 2023—a rise of 172.6%. These data do not include inpatient and day cases.

The analysis by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) reported that the number of ongoing outpatient waits lasting more than a year in Northern Ireland increased from 578 to 6326 during the same period. Paediatrics was the second worst specialty in Northern Ireland in terms of increases to waiting lists after gynaecology. …