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Two elderly patients have been in the emergency department (ED) of the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Belfast for more than five days, BBC News NI can reveal. This comes after more than 500 patients were unable to be discharged from Northern Ireland’s hospitals on Sunday night, despite being medically fit. With no suitable care for them in the community, it meant they remained in beds preventing other sick people from being admitted to hospital wards.
At 17:00 GMT on Monday, 1,052 people were in Northern Ireland’s nine EDs, up from 797 on Sunday night. There were 349 people who had waited more than 12 hours.
The Department of Health said longer-term solutions require sustained investment and reform. A spokesperson said demand for care was currently more than what the health service could provide.
One patient had to be treated in a unused tea room. Claire Wilmont is the lead nurse at the Royal’s emergency department. “We are dealing with the really elderly, vulnerable and really sick patients at the minute and due to the rising level of flu, we are really struggling to look after people,” she said.
Longer-term solutions require sustained investment and reform, according to the Department of Health. A spokesperson said demand for care was currently more than what the health service could provide.
The health minister has met emergency department staff, and had held discussions with both the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
Stormont’s health committee will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt will be present to update members on emergency department waiting times.
The Sinn Féin MLA added: “The rapid decline in care packages delivered over the winter period is also impacting on waiting lists and families who are badly in need of support to help take care of their loved ones.”
Some medical professionals, like Dr Joanne McClean, believe a drop in vaccine uptake has fuelled the surge in respiratory infections.
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