Health trust makes urgent appeal for nurses and nursing assistants due to extreme pressure in Emergency Departments

The appeal comes during weeks of reports of unbearable pressures on hospital Emergency Departments across Northern Ireland.

One factor is reported to have been weakened immune systems due to lockdowns.

The Northern Trust tweeted tonight: "Urgent Staff Appeal for Registered Nurses & Nursing Assistants to support Antrim or Causeway Hospital tonight and tomorrow. If you are available to cover any shifts please contact Duty Sister, for Antrim call 028 9442 4000 or for Causeway Hospital call 028 7032 7032."

Earlier today the trust tweeted that the Emergency Departments at Antrim Area and Causeway Hospitals were currently under "extreme pressure".

It added: "If your condition is not urgent or life-threatening be prepared to face a long wait to be seen. Please consider using alternative services: Phone First on 0300 123 1 123."The Department of Health said today that almost 400 people were waiting to be admitted to hospital.

A senior NI doctor said today that emergency care pressures in Northern Ireland will cause more unnecessary deaths in the future.

"We have a dreadful crowding situation and we have perhaps 450 patients lying on trolleys at this moment in time, queuing literally to get into hospital for emergency treatment," Dr Paul Kerr told BBC News NI.

"So you can expect that filters back into the ambulance system and causes delays in the response time and dreadful delays in the offload time.

"That's scandalous and shocking; in fact and is bound to lead to increased mortality."