Monthly waiting list figures - December 2025

The latest hospital waiting list figures for December 2025 were published today by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

The maximum waiting time targets set out in the 2017 Sláintecare report of 10 weeks for an outpatient (OPD) appointment, and 12 weeks for an inpatient or day case (IPDC) procedure, focus on the length of time patients are waiting rather than the number of patients on waiting lists. International bodies, including the World Health Organisation, have emphasised that waiting time is a more important metric than total waiting list numbers in assessing the performance of a health service. Reducing waiting times brings a number of benefits from a patient perspective, including mitigating the risk of conditions worsening and leading to poorer health outcomes, and improving patient satisfaction in care provision.

The Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP) approach initiated in September 2021 is in line with the focus on waiting times, and the Waiting List Action Plan 2025, embodies the Government’s commitment to reducing waiting times for patients, thereby improving access to hospital care.

The health service has seen significant progress in reducing the length of time patients are waiting under the multi-annual action plan approach, including a reduction of c. 58% or c.164,000 fewer patients waiting over 12 months since September 2021. In the same period, there was an improvement of c. 46% or 5.6 months in the Weighted Average Wait Time (WAWT) that patients across lists have been waiting.

Notwithstanding the focus on improving waiting times, changes in waiting list volumes continue to be important indicators of waiting list performance. The increases in waiting list volumes in the early part of last year represented an anticipated multi-annual trend arising from the winter surge in demand for unscheduled and emergency care and elevated levels of respiratory illness circulating.

However, increases in waiting list volumes continued through most of 2025, stabilising towards the end of the year with reductions in the total waiting list volumes since October evident in the figures published today. There have also been improvements in how long patients have been waiting across lists in the same period. Increased outpatient activity will naturally increase referrals to inpatient or day case waiting lists, and while the number of patients on those lists has increased, the length of time they are waiting has improved.

While we are now seeing signs of progress, the Department will continue to drive improvements in waiting list performance through ongoing engagement with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and NTPF. This will include engagement through the Waiting List Task Force, which is responsible for the governance and implementation of the WLAP.

Scheduled care demand has grown significantly over recent years, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and demographic expectations. While the health service does not wish to see a growth in numbers waiting for care, growth in the number of referrals to our hospital services has a positive aspect in that it is indicative of people accessing the services that they need, an increased awareness of services and reflects an expansion of services.

The Department is engaging with the HSE and NTPF to finalise the action plan for 2026, building on the progress delivered to date, renewing the focus on improving waiting times for patients, and considering the learnings from the challenges that arose in 2025.

Notes

The multi-annual WLAP approach was initiated in September 2021 to sustainably reduce and reform hospital waiting lists and waiting times.

The Government is committed to further reduce waiting times, targeting all patients to be seen within the Sláintecare target of 10 weeks for OPD and 12 weeks for IPDC and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (GI Scopes).

The WLAP 2025 published on 12 February 2025 by the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill sets out 25 actions under the themes of “Delivering Capacity”, “Enabling Scheduled Care Reform” and “Reforming Scheduled Care”.