Almost all doctors running Northern Ireland Emergency Departments 'very concerned' about winter
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has revealed that almost all its senior doctors – who run Northern Ireland’s Emergency Departments – are very worried about pressures they will face this winter.
RCEM says this should serve as "a stark reminder” to government that action is needed "right now" to avert disaster.
The survey asked 163 clinical leads across the UK about how they are managing and their views ahead of winter.
The findings were "stark" according to RCEM.
The college said that of the eight respondents in Northern Ireland – representing almost every Emergency Department – all but one told RCEM they were either 'very' or 'extremely' concerned about the pressure their ED will experience this winter.
Meanwhile, every single Northern Ireland ED clinical lead surveyed by the college said pressure was 'high' or 'very high' at the time of the survey.
The vast majority felt unprepared for winter and said pressure felt worse than this time last year, the college said.
Dr Michael Perry, RCEM Northern Ireland Vice President, said: "Winter is fast-approaching. It will bring extra demand to Emergency Departments, the 'front door' of the hospital in the form of flu and other seasonal illnesses.
"What EDs need for winter is the ability to stretch to meet this demand, so that we can keep our patients safe over the cold months. But that is not the case.
"EDs have been running hot all year round, in a state of perpetual crisis, with thousands of patients left waiting more than half a day, corridor care the norm. Patients who come to us are subjected to undignified and dangerous conditions.
"This survey shows the breadth of concern among my colleagues across Northern Ireland. Politicians must heed our warnings ahead of what we worry will be an utterly brutal winter."
RCEM is calling on the Northern Irish Executive to:
• Free up beds in inpatient wards to allow EDs to admit patients by tackling delayed discharges
• Extend opening hours in parts of the hospital which discharge patients
• Ensure the 'release to rescue' policy, which mandates that patients are offloaded rapidly from ambulances into EDs, is not reduced from two hours to 45 minutes over winter
Dr Ian Higginson, RCEM President, said: "Overcrowding, corridor care and the impending surge of demand from winter are creating a perfect storm for EDs.
"Colleagues from across the four nations have been crystal clear: we simply are not ready for winter, and can barely manage as we are.
"We have patients lining our departments, many stuck in trolleys for hours upon hours. The sickest and most injured among them can't get into a hospital bed and end up stuck with us, sometimes for days.
"It's a disgraceful state of affairs and I cannot believe it has been allowed to get this bad."
Of the 163 clinical leads survedy across the UK, 91% were ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned about winter ED pressures. Just 3% said their ED was well prepared for the cold months while Two-thirds (67%) described their ED as ‘unsafe’.