A leading Northern Ireland surgeon says specialist surgical hubs are the best way to tackle the backlog of operations.
Surgical hubs separate elective or planned surgery from emergency care, which means less serious operations are not cancelled.
Niall McGonigle said the surgical model, in operation since 2021, was already showing positive improvements.
Speaking to BBC News NI ahead of the publication of the latest hospital waiting list figures, the NI director of the Royal College of Surgeons said surgical hubs in Northern Ireland were in their infancy.
One Health Group PLC (AQSE:OHGR) are a team of Consultant Surgeons and Healthcare managers working with the NHS to provide faster, local and expert care in Orthopaedics, Spinal, General Surgery and Gynaecology.