Health chief ‘deeply distressed’ by growing crisis in hospitals

THE chief executive of the Southern Health Trust (pictured below) says she is ‘deeply distressed’ at the current situation in hospitals across the North, which has led to patients waiting for hours in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments waiting to be seen or admitted to wards.

The festive period was a very busy one for A&Es, including at Craigavon Area Hospital, which services the South Tyrone area.

On December 27, the Southern Trust put out a social media post that the Emergency Department at the hospital was experiencing delays and ‘more urgent’ cases would be prioritised.

“The emergency department at Craigavon Area Hospital is extremely busy this evening,” the Tweet said.

“Our team is doing everything they can to see patients as quickly as possible, but there are likely to be long waits as we prioritise the most urgent patients.”

Southern Trust chief executive, Dr Maria O’Kane, has called for more investment in services at what she described as being a ‘distressing time’ for staff and patients alike.

Dr O’Kane said, “As members of this community, as well as health and social care service leaders, we are deeply distressed at the ongoing situation in our hospitals.

“Although strenuous efforts are being made to alleviate the pressures, we have a serious capacity deficit which means too many people are waiting too long for care. Much of the impact of this is falling on frail and ill older people, and on the staff caring for them.

“Pressures on services are expected to intensify further into the early months of 2023.

“The case for long-term investment and reform to effectively build capacity has been well made.

“Right now, however, we have to use whatever levers are available to us to reduce delays and prioritise patient safety.”

At the same time, the Southern Trust also put out a statement saying that its GP Out-of-Hours service was also experiencing an ‘unprecedented number of calls’.

The statement read, “GPOOHs must prioritise urgent calls.

“We would ask patients to consider if they genuinely need urgent care before phoning.”