24 April 2025
More than a thousand people so far this year have been stranded for two days or more in Northern Ireland’s Emergency Departments while waiting for a bed to be found for them – a situation the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has described ‘beyond disastrous’.
The data, released today (24 April 2025) by the Department of Health, covers from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025.
The figures reveal that alarmingly in January alone, 301 patients had to wait in an Emergency Department for more than THREE days (+72hrs) before they could be admitted to a ward bed.
The data also shows that the last quarter of 2024/5:
Interestingly, the data also shows a year on year rise in the number of people who attended the ED for the second time in March for their original issue.
Meanwhile, those who left the department without being seen at all remains high – at 7.3% for this quarter.
The two most recent data sets – from October 2024 to December 2024 and today’s release reveal the scale of the crisis that NI’s EDs have been dealing with in recent months.
The NI Executive has already started planning for next winter by holding a series of meetings with health officials, including representatives from RCEM.
Dr Michael Perry, Vice Chair of RCEM Northern Ireland said: “In the lead up to winter, we cautioned that our Emergency Departments were on track for another disastrous winter.
“And unfortunately, our predications came to fruition – but it was beyond disastrous.
“You simply have to look at today’s data for a glimpse into the sheer scale of challenges that Emergency Departments are facing. And of course, they aren’t just numbers and statistics, these are people.
“Loved family members who were forced to spend dangerously long waits, for many, days, in our EDs, often on trolleys in corridors, because there were no available beds on wards for them to move to.
“And behind every patient, is a team of Emergency Department clinicians who are running on fumes and frustration, trying to care for the most vulnerable people in conditions that are unacceptable.
“We are pleased that the Northern Ireland Executive’s already preparing for next winter – named ‘The Big Discussion’. However, the discussions must translate into tangible, actionable plans to prevent yet another annual winter crisis. We can’t go on like this.”
It has also been reported this week that the number of patients being treated in hospital corridors will be recorded from June. Although, the Department of Health hasn’t confirmed this to RCEM.
