Waiting lists: Latest data shows NI health service in ‘precarious’ state

Responding to the figures, Northern Ireland Director of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), Mr Niall McGonigle, said as the data is incomplete, it makes comparison over time “extremely difficult”.

“As surgeons working on the ground, we know that Northern Ireland’s health service remains in a precarious state, with huge pressures on a depleted and stretched workforce.

“We are concerned that the surgical workforce, on which much of the elective recovery relies, may reduce further in the coming years,” he said.

Mr McGonigle said the RCS surgical workforce census showed that “91% of respondents aged 55 to 64 plan to retire in the next four years”.

He said, “burnout and stress” are also leading surgeons to consider leaving the health service, which is “catastrophic when we need their expertise like never before”.

Dr Alan Stout, chair of BMA’s Northern Ireland Council said it wa “hard to hope that one day these figures will bring good news for everyone in Northern Ireland”.

He added that there needs to be “radical change, with clinicians involved in the process to make sure services are delivered in a way that is timely and efficient”.