Waiting lists for outpatient appointments in public hospitals have reduced, according to the latest official data, but the number of people awaiting operations has increased.
Figures for December show there were 562,039 people on the outpatients list, down from 580,055 a month earlier.
It marks the fifth consecutive fall since last July, according to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), the organisation charged with addressing and monitoring waiting lists.
The figures include a total of 77,682 children who are awaiting outpatient appointments, down from 86,913 last May.
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However, inpatient or day case waiting lists have got longer, rising from 84,287 in November to 85,755 in December. The number of children awaiting inpatient appointments rose by 158 to 10,005. There was also a slight rise in the numbers waiting to receive an appointment for their GI Endoscopy, to 23,619.
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In early December the NTPF data showed the Government was almost 50,000 patients behind its target for reducing hospital waiting lists for the year. The Department of Health said the shortfall on the target had been due to higher-than-anticipated numbers of patients – 102,000 – joining the waiting lists.
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