Belfast Deputy Mayor Paul McCusker has spoken out against patients in A&E being sent home due to waiting times.
In a post on social media, Mr McCusker said that on Saturday evening July 25, patients in Royal Hospital A&E with minor injuries were being sent home by hospital staff due to waiting times.
He said on Twitter: "Concerning that patients presenting with minor injuries including suspected fractures to the Royal Hospital A&E department are being advised to go home and return in the morning due to waiting times. Will be urgently raising this with Belfast Trust,"
Belfast Trust responded to Mr. McCusker's comments in a statement.
In a statement they said: "We recognise that demands for Emergency Care services were challenging on Saturday evening.
"We continued to provide full emergency care services at the Royal Victoria Hospital for patients who presented acutely unwell or required very urgent care, and we also have the additional challenge of complying with Covid-19 social distancing guidance.
"Patients were only discharged when it was safe to do so. Belfast Trust remain committed to delivering a safe, high quality service."
On Monday, the Health Minister Robin Swann addressed waiting times for A&E and said: “While the numbers of people attending Emergency Departments fell during the lockdown period, they have been rising steadily again.
“In the context of Covid-19, we must not permit overcrowding in our Emergency Departments to return to pre-pandemic levels.
“A number of initiatives are being developed to address this issue.
“This is an important priority, ahead of winter pressures for our Emergency Departments and the potential for further waves of Covid-19 infection.”
