HospitalCheck

Northern Ireland

Outpatient waiting times for every HSC (Health and Social Care) Trust in Northern Ireland. NI runs its health service separately from England, Scotland and Wales — these figures come from the Department of Health (Northern Ireland) and are measured against a different standard (no patient should wait more than 52 weeks), so they are shown on their own and never ranked against English, Scottish or Welsh hospitals.

Northern Ireland — national summary

Q2 2026 · all HSC trusts, all specialties combined.

Outpatient (first appointment)

Total patients waiting
504,537
Northern Ireland · latest quarter
Waiting over 52 weeks
53.7%
NI target: no patient over 52 weeks
Patients waiting over 52 weeks
270,731
Longest-waiting patients

Inpatient & day-case (treatment)

Total patients waiting
81,223
Northern Ireland · latest quarter
Waiting over 52 weeks
34.1%
NI target: no patient over 52 weeks
Patients waiting over 52 weeks
27,675
Longest-waiting patients

Diagnostic tests

Total patients waiting
231,145
Northern Ireland · latest quarter
Waiting over 52 weeks
19.0%
Share of the diagnostic waiting list
Patients waiting over 52 weeks
44,029
Longest-waiting patients

Cancer waiting times (31-day)

Q1 2026· patients whose first cancer treatment began within 31 days of the decision to treat. NI's target is 98% within 31 days.

Treated within 31 days
87.3%
NI target: 98% within 31 days
Patients treated
2,954
First treatments · latest quarter
Treated within 31 days
2,580
Of patients treated this quarter

The 31-day standard measures the wait from decision-to-treat to first treatment — a later stage than NI's 62-day referral-to-treatment standard, which is not published per HSC Trust in these tables. Patient numbers are small at trust level, so read the counts alongside the percentage. Never ranked against the other UK nations.

Source: Department of Health (Northern Ireland), Cancer Waiting Times. Reported per HSC Trust. The 31-day standard is measured separately from NHS England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales cancer waits. About this data

HSC Trusts

Latest-quarter outpatient waiting times (NI standard: no patient over 52 weeks).

HSC TrustPatients waitingOver 52 weeks
Belfast HSC Trust137,22652.6%
Northern HSC Trust86,06851.9%
South Eastern HSC Trust91,00654.0%
Southern HSC Trust89,18554.6%
Western HSC Trust80,33352.6%

Source: Department of Health (Northern Ireland). See methodology.