NI emergency department doctors 'having to choose between very sick patients'

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has highlighted severe challenges facing Northern Ireland’s emergency departments (EDs), forcing doctors to make difficult decisions about prioritizing care for “very sick people.” According to recent data from the Department of Health (DoH), none of the emergency departments met the targets for seeing patients within the designated four-hour and 12-hour timeframes during the first quarter of 2026.

RCEM Northern Ireland described this year’s performance as the worst on record and labeled the current condition of emergency services in the region as “utterly horrifying.” Dr Michael Perry, the association’s vice president, emphasized that the working environment within EDs is creating significant obstacles for healthcare professionals. Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s program, he urged policymakers to develop a long-term strategy to confront the ongoing crisis faced by emergency care services.

Dr Perry outlined the gravity of the situation, noting how staff turnover among nurses in emergency departments is alarmingly high, largely due to the stressful conditions they endure. He also shared distressing accounts from medical staff who, despite their best efforts to provide excellent care, have been hampered by the challenging environment, sometimes leading to negative outcomes. Dr Perry stressed the importance of the Northern Ireland Executive approving a multi-year budget to enable proper planning, preventing the system from continuing to spiral through what he calls a “perma-crisis.”

The Department of Health statistics further reveal troubling waiting times in several hospitals. For instance, patients admitted through Altnagelvin’s ED in Londonderry experienced average waits exceeding 21 hours last month. Similarly, waits in Causeway Hospital’s ED in Coleraine surpassed 20 hours for those later admitted to wards. In total, over 72,000 people were seen in Northern Ireland’s emergency departments during the same period. Data shows that patients eventually admitted to hospital wards faced three times longer stays within the ED compared to those who were treated and discharged. These figures shed light on the persistent difficulties in meeting emergency care targets and the strain on patient flow through these departments

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More