To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of patients who have died while on a waiting list for an initial consultant appointment, in the last 12 months.

My Department does not hold data in a format that would allow me to report this information. There is currently no routine reporting of deaths occurring while patients are on a waiting list for an initial consultant appointment, nor is there a regional agreement on how such events should be defined or recorded. Capturing this information would require a standardised definition and consistent reporting processes across all Health and Social Care Trusts, which are not currently in place.