Before beginning to explore solutions to the emergency care crisis in Northern Ireland, I need to fully explore the extent of the problem and the factors that are causing it. I want to get a sense of the media coverage around this issue initially, and then try and find some academic or D.O.H papers explaining the issues in more depth from a scholarly perspective.
A great place to gather a range of perspectives, from both the general public to people in the industry. There was one article in particular that I found particularly interesting to read in previous research for this project, and I wanted to take some time to fully reflect on it’s content.
NI Health: Emergency care pressures 'will cause more deaths'
“Emergency care pressures in Northern Ireland will cause more unnecessary deaths in the future, according to a senior doctor.”
The article details the extent of waiting times for patients attempting to avail of emergency care. Current Department of Health targets state that 95% of all ED patients should be treated and either discharged or admitted to hospital within four hours. The targets also state that no single patient should wait any longer than 12 hours for treatment.
The figures listed on the article, based on 02/01/24, show that there were 376 patients in EDs across Northern Ireland who had already been waiting for more than 12 hours.
NUMBER OF PATIENTS WAITING FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS THAT DAY BY TRUST
It is clear that this is an issue across all of the trusts, rather than just one trust generating a sense of crisis. It pertains to a wider issue across HSCNI and their organisation of services.
The report details the effect that the stress on this system is having on the staff. Healthcare workers are being reduced to tears by this crisis with little to no end in sight. The expectations being placed on this service seem to be steadily rising with no mitigations being put in place for staff.