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N. Ireland ERs: Doctors forced to choose patients
24 Apr
Summary
- Doctors must prioritize critically ill patients due to ER pressures.
- No Northern Ireland ER met four-hour patient wait targets in early 2026.
- Staff turnover is high due to distressing working conditions.
Doctors in Northern Ireland's emergency departments are being compelled to choose which critically ill patients receive priority due to severe departmental pressures. Statistics from the first quarter of 2026 reveal that no emergency department met the benchmark for seeing patients within four hours. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has described the situation as "utterly horrifying."
Dr. Michael Perry highlighted that the current working environment makes staff jobs extremely difficult, leading to significant nursing staff turnover. He emphasized the need for a long-term plan to address this "perma-crisis" and pleaded with policymakers for support. The figures for early 2026 are reported as the worst ever recorded, with over 72,000 attendances last month.
Patients experienced significant delays, with an average wait of over 21.5 hours in Altnagelvin's emergency department before admission. Waits exceeding 20 hours were also recorded at Causeway ED. Dr. Perry noted that while similar issues exist across the UK, Northern Ireland is a significant outlier. A multi-year budget is crucial for effective long-term planning to tackle the ongoing crisis.
