The Northern Ireland Executive must act now to avoid a “disastrous winter” for A&E patients, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned.
The call comes as new data released today reveals that July to September was the worst quarter on record for 12-hour performance in NI’s Emergency Departments, despite it being some of the warmest months of the year.
The figures, released by the Department of Health, reveal that in the second quarter of 2024/25 more than one in five patients (20.6%) waited 12 hours or longer to be treated, admitted, discharged or transferred from emergency departments.
This equates to 31,786 people, 19 times more than the same period in 2017/18.
In September, the median time that admitted patients waited in emergency departments was 16 hours and 30 minutes.
More than 60% of patients waited longer than four hours, the third worst quarter on record.
These figures follow a warning message from the Northern Health Trust on Monday, that stated the Emergency Department at Antrim Area Hospital was “extremely busy”, with patients facing long waits whose conditions are not life-threatening.
Dr Russell McLaughlin, RCEM’s vice president for Northern Ireland said: “If this was the situation during the summer months, what will it be like in the depths of winter?
“We are deeply concerned about the situation both clinicians and the people of Northern Ireland will have to endure over the coming months.
“They are already bearing the brunt of a system that is clearly at capacity before the triple threat of flu, RSV and Covid cases surging.
“We know long stays disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in our society, including the elderly. The situation is not only unacceptable, inconvenient and frustrating; long waits are dangerous and potentially life threatening.
“Emergency Departments are running on fumes and frustrations, and they are in an emergency of their own. Just this week, we have seen one department be forced to declare it is under extreme pressure.
“The Executive must act now and put a plan in place to improve this awful situation before the coldest months hit because at the moment, we are on track for another disastrous winter.”
The Department of Health said that, as in previous years, it will shortly publish a Winter Preparedness Plan.
This will set out the key actions and initiatives being undertaken across the HSC to strengthen operational resilience and help mitigate the anticipated additional winter pressures on the system, including GPs, hospitals and social care.
“The Department has been working over recent months with the Trusts and other key stakeholders on the development of plans which include actions to reduce time spent waiting in Emergency Departments,” a spokesperson added.
“However, the Minster has been clear that while the measures outlined in the Plan will mitigate winter pressures, they will not prevent them.
“We all need to play our part, this means using Emergency Departments when needed but also using other pathways, community pharmacists, GPs and Urgent Care Centres as well as making sure we get our vaccinations.
“Longer term, as the Minister has made clear, improving the current situation will require sustained effort, additional funding and support from across the political spectrum.
“Therefore, despite the planning efforts of all parts of the system, this winter is expected to be highly challenging.”