To ask the Minister of Health to detail how his Department ensures that patients and GPs are kept fully informed of the waiting time for urgent referrals.

My department continues to work to improve communication with both GPs and their patients. The My Waiting Times NI webpage provides GPs and the public with up-to-date information on average waiting times, broken down by Trust, speciality and referral priority (red flag, urgent and routine). Work is underway to further enhance this web page with the development of waiting time information pertaining to the top decile of waits across specialties.

In addition, patients now receive an acknowledgement text message once a referral has been triaged by a consultant, which includes waiting list priority. This helps reassure patients that their referral has been received and is being processed, while also providing a first point of communication on their care journey.