What are the main issues in Northern Ireland's emergency departments?

Emergency departments in Northern Ireland are facing severe overcrowding, unsafe conditions, and critically low staff morale, leading to patient harm.

Why are Northern Ireland's A&E departments so overcrowded?

Overcrowding is largely due to delayed patient discharges resulting from a lack of social care arrangements, coupled with high demand and finite hospital capacity.

What are doctors saying about the situation in NI EDs?

Doctors describe the conditions as 'unsafe' and 'awful,' with staff morale at an 'all-time low,' and believe patients are coming to harm.

Home / Health / NI A&E Crisis: Patients Suffer in Unsafe Corridors

NI A&E Crisis: Patients Suffer in Unsafe Corridors

17 Dec

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Summary

Nearly half of patients in NI emergency departments waited in non-designated spaces.
One patient experienced a 124-hour wait for an inpatient bed in an emergency department.
Delayed discharges due to lack of social care are a major cause of overcrowding.

NI A&E Crisis: Patients Suffer in Unsafe Corridors

Emergency departments across Northern Ireland are operating under "unsafe" conditions, according to doctors who have reported an "all-time low" in staff morale. A recent survey by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) found that patients are suffering harm due to severe overcrowding. Lead consultants from all nine major emergency departments (EDs) participated in a poll, revealing that 401 patients were waiting for inpatient beds. Alarmingly, 49% of these patients were receiving care in non-designated areas like corridors or even on the floor, enduring these conditions for hours, and in some cases, days.

The cubicle occupancy rate for patients awaiting beds reached 137%, with one individual waiting an staggering 124 hours for a bed. All responding clinicians believe patients are being harmed. A significant contributing factor to the overcrowding is delayed patient discharges, primarily due to a lack of adequate social care arrangements. Staff described the atmosphere as "frankly unsafe," with morale at an "all-time low," leading to staff dreading work as they cannot provide the desired standard of care.