To ask the Minister of Health to detail the average waiting time from (i) primary care referral to intial cataract appointment; and (ii) cataract appointment to cataract surgery.

Information on waiting times from primary care referral to initial cataract appointment is not held centrally.

The latest provisional figures, relating to quarter ending September 2019, indicate that the average waiting time, from the decision to admit, for cataract surgery in Northern Ireland was 37.1 weeks. These completed waits do not take account of any suspensions from the waiting list. It should be noted that patients who are admitted non-electively do not have a date waiting. Only elective surgeries are included.