Two elderly patients have been in the emergency department at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Belfast waiting to be admitted for more than five days, BBC Information NI can reveal.
This comes after more than 500 patients could not be discharged from hospital on Sunday night, despite being in good medical condition.
Without adequate care for them in the community, they remained in beds, preventing other sick people from being admitted to hospital wards.
On Sunday, more than 400 people attending emergency departments in Northern Ireland were told they would have to wait at least 12 hours for a hospital bed.
The Department of Health said longer-term solutions required sustained investment and reform.
“An unbearable environment”
At the RVH on Monday, BBC Information NI heard that a person with flu was being treated in an unused tea room.
Three others have been in the same area for four days.
Emergency department head nurse Claire Wilmont said staff are “treating the most vulnerable sick elderly patients in an unsupportable environment.”
With the current cold snap and flu numbers yet to peak in Northern Ireland, the health service is bracing for a difficult week.
Some of those working over the weekend told BBC Information NI that the longer wait was a cause for concern, as delays increase the likelihood of harm to some patients.
An emergency department (ED) consultant said it was shameful that care in the halls of emergency medicine had become “almost normalized.”
Another said that until social care in Northern Ireland was addressed, the predictable Christmas spike would not change.
Army support?
Health unions have told BBC Information NI that while the rise in flu was widely predicted, little was done on the ground to address the inevitable.
Among the possible scenarios that staff were discussing was bringing in the Army during December and January to provide additional support in the wards and in outpatient care.
It was also suggested that the health regulator, the RQIA, should be more flexible regarding rules on care homes, which require residents to be sent to emergency departments rather than being cared for inside the home.
To help reduce the spread of infections, including flu, several hospitals in England have restricted hospital visits and have asked patients and visitors to wear face masks to prevent further spread of the flu.
The icy conditions will put the system under further pressure, with calls for the public to be cautious and perhaps think twice before venturing out.
fake imagesFigures seen by BBC Information NI show that on Sunday night the number of people waiting more than 12 hours was:
- 61 at Craigavon Area Hospital
- 51 at Antrim Area Hospital
- 49 at the Current Victoria Hospital
- 48 at Ulster Hospital
- 42 at Altnagelvin hospital
- 35 at Causeway Hospital
- 24 at Daisy Hill Hospital
- 21 at the Mater Infirmorum Hospital
- 19 at the Southwest Acute Hospital
Longer-term solutions require sustained investment and reform, according to the Department of Health.
A spokesperson said demand for care was currently greater than what the health service could provide.
The statement adds that in recent days, the Health Minister has met with emergency department staff and held discussions with both the Royal School of Nursing and the Royal School of Emergency Drugs.
“The minister shares his serious concerns about the impact of the immense pressures on staff and patients and will continue with greater engagement in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
“The worst we have ever been”
The vice-president of the current Northern Ireland College of Emergency Medicine has said it is “impossible to manage” the number of patients arriving at emergency departments.
A 12-hour wait for a bed was probably “a conservative estimate,” he said.
“Every department in this country will tell you there have been patients waiting for three or four days,” he added.
“We are in the worst moment we have ever had, in relation to today’s headlines, for emergency medical personnel, we knew this was going to happen, we were not surprised because this has been the trend for a long time.
“There is just no physical space to take people to be evaluated.”
Vaccines are urgently needed
Dr Nicola Herron, a Londonderry GP, said the drop in vaccine uptake has fueled the rise in respiratory infections.
“Then, inevitably, in years where there is poor uptake, we see a massive increase in respiratory tract infections, coughs, colds, flus, and this year the additional concern of something like Covid… the flu seems to be the predominant one.” this year,” he said. he told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Right this moment programme.
gettyThe Public Health Agency (PHA) said it was not too late for people to get vaccinated against flu, as cases had not yet peaked, and that it would protect the public and the health service well beyond the winter months.
“We are in the middle of our winter virus season,” said Dr. Joanne McClean. BBC Good Morning Ulster programme.
“Throughout the year our hospitals and A&E are very busy and during the winter, in addition to the usual pressures, we contract winter viruses, mainly Covid, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).”
One possible reason for this may be that “people have forgotten that the flu can be a very serious illness,” Dr. McClean added.
“We need to update our flu vaccine every year because the flu changes every year.”
