REVEALED: Almost 10,000 patients facing 12-hour plus hospital wait
Shock report shows major breach of ED targets
Nearly 10,000 patients waited more than 12 hours in emergency departments across Northern Ireland before being treated and discharged or admitted, shock new statistics revealed today (Thursday).
The tally of 9,567 for the first quarter of the year was three times higher than the corresponding period in 2017 – and represented a major breach of Ministerial targets which state no patient should wait that long.
The Department of Health figures also show that three-quarters of patients attending EDs last month began their treatment within two of hours of being triaged – a decrease in the total for March last year.
And during the first three months of 2018 nearly two thirds of patients were treated and discharged or admitted with four hours.
Again, that was down on the same period last year.
The statistics can be viewed in full on the Department's website
https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/emergency-care-waiting-times