To ask the Minister of Health to detail his plans for reducing waiting times for hip replacement operations.

Reducing waiting times for elective care, including orthopaedics, is a key priority for me. Current waiting times are unacceptable, no one should have to wait longer than necessary for the surgery they need, such as hip replacements. While good progress has been made in tackling waiting times in some areas, there remains much more to be done. Within the constraints of existing budgets, I’m committed to taking whatever actions I can to tackle these waiting times and ensure that patients are treated as quickly as possible to ensure best possible outcomes.

In April 2022 my Department commissioned an independent external review of the regional elective orthopaedic service in Northern Ireland to identify proposals for the immediate recovery of the service. Since the completion of the review significant progress has been made across the region, with some Trusts now exceeding pre-Covid levels of activity. For example, in Musgrave Park Hospital, more than 1,700 additional patients, over and above activity planned prior to the review, have been treated to date, and the newly refurbished Duke of Connaught Unit at the Hospital is now delivering high volume, low complexity treatments for patients, with over 1,700 procedures and 750 outpatient appointments delivered in the unit thus far. However, I accept that there is more to do and providing further improvement in orthopaedic waiting lists is important to improve the health outcomes of our population.

I recognise that the transformation of HSC services alone is not enough to remove our unacceptably long waiting times. While it will help bridge the existing capacity / demand gap and in some specialities/procedures, may also reduce waiting lists, more needs to be done. Going forward, we therefore need to invest in additionality to reduce waits. Any future funding allocation to help reduce waiting lists in orthopaedics will, however, need to be considered as part of a broader review of resource investment in Waiting List Initiatives.