Judith Cochrane MLA said: “This is a shocking statistic but not surprising given that there has been a 22% increase in admissions but only a 9% increase in the number of beds, which has led to an increase in waiting times.
“There has been a major restructuring of hospital admissions following the closure of Belfast City Accident and Emergency unit, but this news shows that there must be a better planning structure put in place to ensure resources across different hospitals are most efficiently used so that waiting times are kept as short as possible.
“We have all heard of the problems that hospitals are facing to reduce waiting times, but this is a problem that must be urgently addressed. Thankfully, hospital chiefs have given assurances that these delays have not led to additional health risks”
ENDS