Patients turned away as NI hospital runs out of beds


With the number of coronavirus patients now exceeding the numbers recorded in April at the height of the pandemic, an appeal was issued by the Northern Trust yesterday evening about the situation at Antrim Area Hospital.

The latest figures from the Department of Health show that, with the exception of specialist cardiac and paediatric beds, there are now just two free intensive care beds being staffed in Northern Ireland – one in Enniskillen and one in Coleraine.

Yesterday evening, a spokesperson for the Northern Trust said: “Antrim Area Hospital is currently operating beyond capacity. Due to beds being unavailable, 27 sick people are awaiting admission.”

The trust spokesperson added: “We are asking all patients who are fit to be discharged and assessed as requiring a community bed to accept the first bed identified as being available.”

This comes in the middle of a four-week ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown that authorities hope will curb the spread of the virus.

With schools set to reopen on Monday, the head of the Catholic schools sector has warned against any further closures.

The Department of Education has insisted there is no “target” that needs to be reached in terms of the spread of the virus before schools can open again.

Businesses, meanwhile, have felt the impact of coronavirus restrictions more severely in Northern Ireland than in other parts of the UK.

With the hospitality industry closed, footfall in towns and cities here has dropped more than any other UK region.

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said some members had lost “as much as 60%” due to the downturn.