AQW 47623/22-27

Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 02/06/2026
Answered On Date: 25/06/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the longest time between patients being admitted with a fractured hip and receiving surgery, in the last three years, broken down by (i) Health and Social Care Trust; (ii) hospital.

Answer:

Patients requiring surgery for a fractured hip are treated at the four hospitals referenced in Table 1 below (the Northern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust does not provide this surgery).

The data shows the longest waiting time, within the last three years, between admission for a fractured hip and surgery, broken down by HSC Trust and hospital site. Waiting times are measured in hours from the date and time the decision to admit is made, to the start time of surgery. However, this data may include periods during which the patient was deemed medically unfit for surgery.

Table 1: Longest waiting time from admission to surgery for a fractured hip in the last three years

HSC Trust	Hospital Site	Longest Time from Admission to Surgery (Hours) 1,2
Belfast	Royal Victoria	264.0 hours
South Eastern	Ulster	229.0 hours
Southern	Craigavon	196.0 hours
Western	Altnagelvin	147.5 hours

1This may include a period during which the patient was medically unfit for surgery.

2The data covers the period from June 2023 to March 2026.

Delays in getting patients to theatre in a timely manner arise primarily from sustained trauma and emergency demand pressures across hospital sites, including constraints on theatre availability, competing clinical priorities, and the need to ensure access to specialist orthopaedic and anaesthetic teams.

Additional funding has recently been allocated to HSC Trusts to improve fracture waiting times. This funding will increase theatre capacity and bed availability across all trauma sites within the region.