More than 626,000 patients were waiting for a first hospital outpatient consultation in September – of those more than 72,000 were children.
The figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund also found in excess of 100 thousand hospital patients were on waiting lists for an appointment for an inpatient or day case in the same month.
The HSE says it anticipates that the increases in waiting list volumes will stabilise and performance will improve in the final months of 2025.
The Department of Health said it will continue to drive improvements in waiting list performance through ongoing engagement with the HSE and NTPF.
