Doctor concerned for safety of patients as pressures in A&E increase

An A&E doctor has told UTV that she is extremely concerned about patient safety amid mounting pressures in emergency departments.

Health trusts have continued to warn of long waits at hospitals.

As of midday on Wednesday, there were a total of 854 patients waiting in Emergency Departments across Northern Ireland.

Doctor Clodagh Corrigan said: "I'm worried for patients, I'm worried for their safety, I'm worried for my colleagues for their wellbeing.

"We're a system at the end of its tether and it can't cope.

"But there is evidence published by the Royal College of emergency medicine that patients who wait over five hours are at an increased risk of coming to harm, and we are starting to see that harm."

It comes as the impacted NHS trusts made appeals on social media.

"Our emergency departments at Antrim & Causeway remain under extreme pressure today, with long waits for those whose condition is not life-threatening or urgent," the Northern Trust posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"Please understand our staff are working hard in difficult conditions."

Meanwhile the Southern Trust said Daisy Hill and Craigavon Area Hospital's emergency departments are also struggling with the current pressures, and stated that the most critically ill patients to be seen first.

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