To ask the Minister of Health what action he is taking to ensure red-flagged breast clinic referrals are meeting their target of receiving an appointment within two weeks.

The Department continues to work with all Trusts to reduce the current waiting time for breast assessments. Non-recurrent funding has been allocated to Trusts in 2023/24 to support additional waiting list initiative work, using both inhouse and independent sector capacity. In addition, the Department continues to facilitate the equalisation and reduction of waiting times through the inter-Trust transfer of patients.

Bringing our waiting lists to an acceptable level across a range of specialties, including breast services, is a long term collective effort requiring sustained and substantial investment and additional staffing. The scale at which I will be able to tackle the unacceptable waiting lists will be greatly influenced by the outcome of the current budgetary discussions.