Department of Health figures show patients at Causeway Hospital’s emergency department waited nearly 23 hours for admission during December 2024.
The department today reported on statistics on the total time patients spent in an ED in Northern Ireland from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge between October and December last year.
According to the figures December saw a total of 63,347 patients emergency departments in Northern Ireland, 4,472 (7.6%) more than in December 2023 (58,875).
A further 3,157 attended an Urgent Care Centre without further referral to an ED.
Between December 2023 and December 2024, the number of patients waiting over 12 hours increased from 10,597 to 12,281.
Waits of over 12 hours accounted for almost 20% of all attendances at emergency departments during December.
The emergency care department at Causeway Hospital reported the longest average waiting times.
During December 2024 patients waited on average 22 hours and 47 minutes from arrival to admission.
The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children reported the shortest waiting times, with patients waiting on average 6 hours and 47 minutes until admission.
The figures show that between October and December 2024, there were 192,665 attendances at emergency departments, 3.7% (6,889) more than during the same quarter in 2023 (185,776).
The figures showed that the time patients spent in emergency departments has also increased.
Patients admitted to hospital from a Type 1 ED, a unit for the most serious injuries, waited 16 hours and 18 minutes during December, over an hour and half longer than the previous year.
On average patients attending a Type 1 ED who were discharged also waited longer. They spent on average over 5 hours in an ED before being discharged, 20 minutes more than the same time last year.
Less than a third (31.9%) of attendances at Type 1 EDs in December 2024 spent less than 4 hours in an ED.
This was compared with 77.7% at specialist units known as Type 2 EDs, and 92.2% at minor injury units known as Type 3 EDs.
On average patients waited 15 minutes after arriving at an ED for an initial assessment by a medical professional, with 95% of patients being assessed within 1 hour and 27 minutes of arrival.
Around 5% of patients attending EDs in December had their treatment started over nine hours after being triaged, while just under 60% had their treatment started within two hours.