Getty ImagesMore than 400 people who attended emergency departments on Sunday night were told they would have at least a 12-hour wait for a hospital bed.
News NI can reveal that at one stage 797 people were waiting in Northern Ireland’s nine emergency departments, with more than half needing a bed.
A total of 350 patients had already been waiting more than 12 hours.
While demand is much the same compared to this time last year, more people are having to wait a lot longer to be admitted.
The Department of Health said longer-term solutions required sustained investment and reform.
With the current cold snap and flu figures yet to peak in Northern Ireland the health service is bracing itself for a difficult week.
Some of those working over the weekend told News NI that the longer wait was a concern – as delays increase the likelihood that some patients will come to harm.
One emergency department (ED) consultant said it was disgraceful that corridor care in emergency medicine had become “almost normalised”.
Another said that until social care was addressed in Northern Ireland, the predictable Christmas spike would not change.
Army support?
Health unions have told News NI that while the flu spike was widely predicted, little was done on the ground to address the inevitable.
Among the possible scenarios being discussed by staff was to bring in the Army during December and January for additional support on the wards and in ambulatory care.
It was also suggested the health regulator, the RQIA, should be more flexible about rules in nursing homes, which require residents being sent to EDs rather than being cared for within the home.
To help reduce the spread of infection including flu, several hospitals in England have restricted hospital visits and have asked patients and visitors to wear face masks to prevent further spread of flu.
The freezing conditions will put the system under further pressure with calls for the public to be cautious and perhaps think twice about venturing out.
Getty ImagesFigures seen by News NI show that on Sunday evening the number of people waiting more than 12 hours were:
- 61 at Craigavon Area Hospital
- 51 at Antrim Area Hospital
- 49 at the Royal Victoria Hospital
- 48 at the Ulster Hospital
- 42 at Altnagelvin Hospital
- 35 at Causeway Hospital
- 24 at Daisy Hill Hospital
- 21 at the Mater Infirmorum Hospital
- 19 at the South Western Acute Hospital
Longer-term solutions require sustained investment and reform, according to the Department of Health.
A spokesperson said demand for care was currently more than what the health service could provide.
The statement added that in recent days, the health minister had met emergency department staff, and had held discussions with both the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
“The minister shares their serious concerns about the impact of the immense pressures on staff and patients and will follow up with further engagement in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
‘Worst we’ve ever been’
The vice chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Northern Ireland has said it is “impossible to manage” the number of patients arriving to emergency departments.
As what’s to blame for increased hospital traffic, Dr Michael Perry claimed that “our population is ageing, we are becoming, as a demographic, much more elderly”.
“If the elderly and frail get flu at home, sometimes, they cannot cope so [they] need to use hospitals, and the majority of our patients waiting for beds are people with complex medical needs,” he added.
A 12-hour wait for a bed was probably “a conservative estimate”, he said.
“Every department in this country will tell you there’s been patients waiting for three or four days,” he added.
“We are at the worst we’ve ever been, regarding the headlines today, to emergency medical staff, we knew this was going to happen, it hasn’t surprised us because this has been the trend for so long.
“There’s just no physical space to bring people in to get them assessed.”
Vaccines urged
Dr Nicola Herron, a Londonderry-based GP, said a drop in vaccine uptake has fuelled the surge in respiratory infections.
Speaking to Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme, Dr Herron said when there is a lower than needed vaccine uptake such a surge is inevitable.
She added: “This year there was a drop… and then inevitably in years where there is a poor uptake we see a massive surge in respiratory tract infections, coughs, colds, flus, and this year the added worry of something like covid… flu seems to be the predominant one this year.
“I don’t think anyone doesn’t know someone whose Christmas was ruined this year because of a bad flu and having to spend most of it in bed.”
GettyThe Public Health Agency (PHA) said it was not too late for people to get the flu vaccine as cases had yet to peak, and it would protect the public and the health service well beyond the winter months.
Dr Joanne McClean Director of Public Health at the PHA in Northern Ireland has also credited lack of vaccinations as one of the reasons for increased congestion at hospitals.
“We’re in the middle of our winter virus season,” she told ‘s Good Morning Ulster programme.
“All during the year our hospitals and ED’s are really busy, and during winter, on-top of the usual pressures, we get winter viruses, mainly Covid, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).”
A possible reason for this may be that “people have forgotten that flu can be a very serious illness”, Dr McClean added.
“We need to have our flu vaccine updated every year because flu changes every year.”
