The number of people on waiting lists for operations in the ophthalmic, orthopaedic and cardiology departments has reduced drastically since 2013, figures tabled in Parliament on Wednesday show.

Figures tabled by Health Minister Chris Fearne show that in the number of people on the waiting list for a cataracts operation now stands at 1,952, when in 2013 it stood at 3,344.  This is a reduction of 42%.

The waiting list for operations within the orthopaedic department meanwhile have seen even higher reductions; there was a 45% decrease in the people on the waiting list for hip replacements and a 50% decrease in people on the waiting list for knee replacements.  The number of people on the waiting list for these two procedures is 191 and 924 people respectively.

The highest decreases from the three departments that Fearne tabled statistics for can be found within the cardiology department.  Fearne's statistics speak of two main procedures; angiograms and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.  The data tabled shows that in the case of the former, there were 227 people on the waiting list in 2013, and in the case of the latter, there were 39.

This year, Fearne's statistics showed, the waiting list had been reduced to 26 people for angiograms and just four for Percutaneous Coronary Interventions.  That equates to reductions of 89% and 90% respectively.