Nursing union describes unprecedented pressures at hospitals

A nursing union has warned the health service is ‘falling in over the precipice’ as nurses and healthcare workers deal with unprecedented pressures at emergency departments.

On Wednesday, the Health and Social Care Board issued a warning that all EDs across Northern Ireland’s hospitals were extremely busy amid a challenging winter.

Pat Cullen Director Royal College of Nursing NI has described “really concerning” conditions facing health staff.

She said: “The average wait in the emergency department is now up to 12 plus hours and more. We’ve 41 trolley waits in one of our hospitals, 43 in another hospital, the average age of the patient on those trolleys waiting for beds is around 80 years of age, is that the service we want for our people in Northern Ireland?

“[Nurses] are also deeply concerned about the safety issues relating to our trauma patients that are waiting on beds, our most seriously ill people and they are waiting on beds in our intensive care units and they haven’t got beds for them. Those patients are having to be ventilated in our theatres, now that is most worrying for all of us, certainly worrying for nurses who are trying to cope with all of this.

She added: “I’ve never heard in all of my years of nursing, a patient having to be ventilated in a theatre because there isn't a bed in the intensive care unit.”

Nurses went on strike for the first time ever in Northern Ireland before Christmas over pay and staffing levels. RCN members will strike again on 8 and 10 January unless a satisfactory offer is made by health chiefs and politicians.

“We cannot continue another decade of this, we cannot continue another few months of this,” Ms Cullen continued.

“The permanent secretary came out last year and said we’re staring over a precipice, we’re looking down over the precipice, surely to goodness we can’t stand there much longer, we’re now falling in over the precipice.

“It’s happening, we can see that in our health service over the last number of days and it’s nurses again and our doctors who are dealing with this and it cannot continue. It has to be a political solution, There must be political leadership brought to Northern Ireland.”