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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Health
Jane Corscadden

Craigavon Area Hospital: Emergency department working 'far beyond capacity'

A hospital in Co Armagh has said its emergency department is working "under extreme pressure" and "far beyond capacity."

Craigavon Area Hospital said 138 patients are currently in its emergency department on Tuesday, with other patients waiting outside in ambulances for "extended periods."

It follows a similar situation at the Ulster Hospital on Monday night and at Antrim Area Hospital over the weekend.

Read more: Department of Health "deeply concerned" as NI hospitals face 'extreme' pressure

On Monday, Ulster Hospital had 164 people in its emergency department and 53 people awaiting admission.

At Craigavon Area Hospital, the Southern Heath Trust told BBC News NI that patients "are waiting a very long time in the emergency department to be admitted to a hospital ward".

The Trust added: "We are facing particular ongoing challenges in admitting patients and managing these pressures is a huge ongoing daily challenge for our exhausted staff.

"Reduced access to domiciliary care packages and limited nursing or residential home places, makes it very challenging to meet the increasing demand for support at the point of discharge.

"However, it is vital that where possible, patients leave the hospital immediately when medically fit for discharge."

At 3pm on Tuesday, there were six emergency ambulances queued at the hospital.

Over the weekend, an elderly woman who had been waiting several hours to be admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast died while lying on a trolley in its emergency department.

On Saturday night, Antrim Area Hospital declared a major incident and issued a statement asking people to "not attend under any circumstances" after it had reached full capacity due to the number of patients needing to be admitted.

The Northern Health & Social Care Trust said the decision to close the ED was regrettable but it was the only safe response under the circumstances.

The Department of Health has called for the public to do what they can to help support Health and Social Care trusts as they face continued pressure.

A spokesperson for The Department of Health said: "The Department of Health remains deeply concerned about the situation in our hospitals and across the health and social care system.

"The regional planning for winter pressures has been spelt out publicly and in detail.

"It has always been clear that these plans will only mitigate the problems, rather than resolve them.

"The fundamental reality is that we have a serious mismatch between demand for care and the capacity of the system to provide it."

They continued: "Neighbouring jurisdictions are facing similar challenges.

"We need everyone across society to support our health service in every way they can.

"Hospitals do not have unlimited capacity and it is imperative that when patients have been deemed medically fit they leave the hospital setting.

"Every delayed discharge means a bed is being withheld from a very sick person waiting in an emergency department or in an ambulance outside a hospital, and further impacts on the system’s ability to respond to need in the community."

Information on the average waiting times for Hospital Emergency Departments is available on the NI Direct website

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