Councillors in Derry and Strabane have called for new facilities at Altnagelvin Hospital’s A&E department, which only has “one toilet between upwards of 100 sick patients”.
Sinn Fein’s Sandra Duffy said staff shortages are leaving GP surgeries and hospitals unable to meet the needs of patients here.
The emergency department (ED) at Altnagelvin is the oldest in Northern Ireland. It was built to cater for 40,000 patients annually, but now sees between 70-80,000 per year.
However, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has said an upgraded ED in Derry is at least five years away.
The Western Trust has 24 areas in which health outcomes are worse than the Northern Ireland average, Foyle MLA Sinéad McLaughlin recently told the Assembly.
Male life expectancy in the Trust’s most deprived areas is 73 years — five years lower than the average. And in the most deprived areas of Derry City and Strabane, people are dying seven years earlier than the Northern Ireland average.
Speaking at a council meeting, Mrs Duffy said Altnagelvin’s A&E department “has been experiencing severe pressure for a number of years”.
“The situation there is becoming increasingly untenable for staff and patients alike, so it is crucial that the Health Minister now prioritises a new fit-for-purpose emergency department for the hospital.”
She said constituency offices are dealing with “unprecedented” numbers of health issues, with winter pressures making matters “much, much worse”.
A new term — ‘corridor care’ — has been added to the vocabulary this year, she said. Mrs Duffy added that pressures exist all year at Altnagelvin, which shows a “clear and demonstrable need for a fit-for-purpose emergency department”.
She spoke of those experiencing a mental health crisis or with severe conditions having no privacy due to a lack of consultation rooms, which can lead to anxiety around medical care in a busy waiting area.
Dozens of older patients are waiting up to 20 hours in chairs before admission, she told the meeting.
“There is one toilet in the waiting room,” she said. “One toilet between upwards of 100 sick people.
“One toilet for people suffering with Crohn’s disease, kidney stones and many other issues.
“One toilet in which there have been multiple reports of drug-taking. One toilet for clinically unwell patients to use.
“Where is the infection control? The dignity? And the safety for patients?”
She concluded by referencing staff who are “burnt out” and have faced “verbal and physical assaults”.
Backing Mrs Duffy’s motion calling for new A&E facilities at Altnagelvin, the DUP said there needs to be “widespread health reform” because “people are losing their lives on waiting lists”.
The SDLP’s Catherine McDaid said the minor injuries unit has “definitely improved” the system, but to pass through the emergency department “it doesn’t feel like it”.
“Why, when our health outcomes are so poor, do we have the oldest emergency department in the region? It just doesn’t make sense,” she said.
On the department’s suggestion that any upgrade is at least five years away, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin described that as “completely unacceptable”.
Referring to comments from First Minister Michelle O’Neill that Stormont is “good on delivery”, he said this is another example of Stormont failure as the “health system is an absolute shambles”.
He asked for an amendment to include the Executive as it should be discussed there, adding that Sinn Fein doesn’t need to bring a council motion as it has representatives around the Executive table.
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The Western Trust said: “Redevelopment of emergency services accommodation is part of the strategic plan for Altnagelvin.
“A business case was developed in 2020 to seek approval for this development.
“The Trust is now refreshing the business case to ensure the case presented is robust and up to date.
“This is an essential requirement to secure departmental support and funding. The Trust is aiming to have the OBC (outline business case) completed by spring/summer 2025.
“It will then be submitted to the Department of Health for consideration and approval.”
The department said its ability to take forward the redevelopment of the ED will be dependent on the capital budget allocation it receives.
A spokesperson added: “Given the need to fund contractual commitments and ongoing investment to maintain existing services, it is currently unaffordable based on the level of funding indicated in the draft capital budget for 2025/26.
“When funding becomes available for the redevelopment of the emergency department at Altnagelvin, the Trust will be invited to submit a business case for this proposal.”
In a statement marking a year since the restoration of Stormont, Mr Nesbitt said he was “under no illusions about the scale of the problems”.
“We have many deep, long-standing challenges in health and social care, with provision falling well short of what is required across key sectors,” he said.
“As I have stated repeatedly, a ‘whole of government’ approach is needed to drive forward lasting improvements.
“However, despite intense budgetary pressures, some important progress has still been achieved in the past year. This includes pay packages for health workers for 2023/24 and 2024/25 based on maintaining pay parity with England.”