Number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E more than doubles in a year

By Q Radio News

The Department of Health (DoH) today published statistics on the time spent in emergency care departments (ED) throughout Northern Ireland during the months of October, November and December 2019.

The statistical bulletin presents information on all new and unplanned review attendances during October, November and December 2019.  It details information on the time spent in EDs during each of these months including; the monthly performance against the DoH emergency care waiting times target for EDs and the time waited for key milestones during a patient’s journey through ED, whilst they are being cared for in an ED, including the time to triage and time to start of treatment.

This information release is published on the Departmental website here.

Attendances at Emergency Care Departments:

Attendances:

• During December 2019, there were 64,872 attendances at EDs in Northern Ireland, 1,764 (2.6%) less than in December 2018 (66,636).
• Of the 64,872 ED attendances during December 2019, 54,035 (83.3%) had attended a Type 1 ED, 5,009 (7.7%) attended a Type 2 ED and 5,828 (9.0%) attended a Type 3 ED.
• Between December 2018 and December 2019, attendances decreased at Type 1 EDs (1,768, 3.2%) and Type 3 EDs (127, 2.1%), but increased at Type 2 EDs (131, 2.7%).
• There were 207,715 attendances at EDs during the quarter ending 31st December 2019, 2.5% (5,105) more than during the same quarter in 2018 (202,610).

Left before Treatment Complete:

• During December 2019, 4.8% of all ED attendances left before their treatment was complete.

Time Spent in Emergency Care Departments:

Performance against Targets

• Over half (54.8%) of attendances at Type 1 EDs in December 2019 were treated and discharged, or admitted within four hours of their arrival, compared with 62.2% in December 2018.
• Almost four in five (78.9%) patients attending a Type 2 ED in December 2019 were treated and discharged, or admitted within four hours of their arrival, compared with 82.7% in December 2018.
• Almost all (99.8%) patients attending a Type 3 ED were treated and discharged, or admitted within four hours of their arrival, compared with 99.9% in December 2018.
• Between December 2018 and December 2019, the number waiting longer than 12 hours more than doubled from 1,991 to 5,280, accounting for 8.1% of all attendances in December 2019.  
• Over three quarters (76.2%) of patients attending EDs in December 2019 commenced their treatment within two hours of being triaged, compared with 78.4% in December 2018.
• During the quarter ending 31st December 2019, almost two thirds (62.3%) of patients were treated and discharged or admitted within four hours, compared with 69.4% in the same quarter in 2018.

Health Minister Robin Swann has commented on the emergency care waiting time statistics released today.

The Minister said: “These figures are simply not good enough. The people of Northern Ireland deserve better.  I have written to the chief executives of each of the Trusts, requesting detailed assessments of the situation.

“We all owe a debt of gratitude to the staff who continue to work through these pressures, however, we need to fix things for their sake as well as for patients.  I fully recognise that there are no quick or easy solutions. As with other parts of the health service, sustained investment is required alongside reforms to the way services are delivered.

“One of the key issues is the increasing number of older people attending Emergency Departments and experiencing long waits, many of whom will require hospital admission. As a society, we have to find better ways of looking after our frail elderly citizens when they need hospital care.

“Another priority is the development of community services to facilitate discharges of patients who are well enough to leave hospital. This is in the best interests of the patients and will also alleviate pressure in EDs and throughout the system. This will require investment in the social care workforce.”

In conclusion, the Minister said: “Looking to the longer-term, I welcome the fact that the Department is progressing a clinically-led review of urgent and emergency care, with a view to transforming services. An initial report is expected shortly, which will outline the current challenges and explore some potential solutions.”