Non COVID-19 hospital care down by as much as two thirds in Northern Ireland

By Q Radio News and PA.

Non-Covid-19 related hospital care is down by up to two thirds in Northern Ireland, the health minister has warned.

Robin Swann outlined plans for rebuilding services on Tuesday as the NHS pivots back from focusing resources on coronavirus.

Priorities include some cancer treatments and other urgent conditions.

Mr Swann said: "The scale of the challenge confronting the health and social care system is daunting.

"We need to maximise service activity within the context of managing the ongoing Covid-19 situation."

Planned care was deferred as medical staff were redeployed in March to treat coronavirus-related cases.

The minister told the Assembly: "Those waiting lists were unacceptable before Covid-19 and they are even more horrendous now.

"For instance, outpatient activity is down between 40% and 55%; and inpatient activity by between 34% and 67% - both compared to the similar period last year."

He said the impact on social care was evident in the presence of Covid-19 among care home residents and staff.

"A recent survey of providers indicates that 19% of those who responded were caring for a resident who had tested positive," he said.

"A slightly higher proportion - 23% of providers - had employees who had tested positive."

Early anecdotal evidence suggests that there are a larger number of mental health presentations previously not known to the system.

The minister said: "These may well be linked with the effects of a reduction of face-to-face contacts and stress related to the pandemic.

"Important projects and programmes being delivered across the department have also been affected.

"For example, only two of my department's New Decade, New Approach priorities are now on target for delivery."

Mr Swann said work on other commitments would be behind schedule.

He added: "Emerging research indicates that population health is, on balance, likely to be negatively affected by the wider impacts of Covid-19.

"And perhaps the greatest concern is that the most disadvantaged in our society are likely to be worst affected.

"We need to carefully monitor the impacts on population health and consider ways in which we can address them, especially for our most vulnerable citizens."

Health trusts have published plans for scaling up services in the immediate period to June 30.

Three-month blueprints will be made as the country copes with coronavirus infections.