The RCEM added that in January alone, 301 patients waited more than three days to be admitted to a ward bed.<\/p>\n
The figures also showed:<\/p>\n
The RCEM also said the data showed a year on year rise in the number of people attending the ED for the second time in March for their original issue.<\/p>\n Those leaving the department without being seen at all also remains high at 7.3% this quarter.<\/p>\n Along with data from the last quarter of 2024, the RCEM said the latest figures revealed the scale of the \u201ccrisis.\u201d<\/p>\n More than a thousand people so far this year have been stranded for two days or more in Northern Ireland\u2019s Emergency Departments while waiting for a bed to be found for them \u2013 a situation the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has described \u2018beyond disastrous\u2019.<\/p>\n Read our full\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Royal College of Emergency Medicine (@RCollEM) April 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n To this end, the Northern Ireland Executive has already started planning for next winter by holding meetings with health officials, including those from the RCEM.<\/p>\n Dr Michael Perry, Vice Chair of RCEM Northern Ireland said: \u201cIn the lead up to winter, we cautioned that our Emergency Departments were on track for another disastrous winter.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd unfortunately, our predications came to fruition \u2013 but it was beyond disastrous.<\/p>\n \u201cYou simply have to look at today\u2019s data for a glimpse into the sheer scale of challenges that Emergency Departments are facing. And of course, they aren\u2019t just numbers and statistics, these are people.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cLoved family members who were forced to spend dangerously long waits – for many, days – in our EDs, often on trolleys in corridors, because there were no available beds on wards for them to move to.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd behind every patient, is a team of Emergency Department clinicians who are running on fumes and frustration, trying to care for the most vulnerable people in conditions that are unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department is reminding the public that timely discharge from hospital is better for patients and can help deliver hospital care to those who need it most. <\/p>\n It can also help reduce pressures on health services during busy periods. @HSC_NI<\/a> <\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0fMore: https:\/\/t.co\/lzHJn0t6Rp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/zpsinPeP6Q<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Department of Health (@healthdpt) April 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While pleased the Executive was already engaged with \u201cThe Big Discussion\u201d on winter preparations, he said this must \u201ctranslate into tangible, actionable plans\u201d to prevent another annual crisis.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the BMA also voiced their concern over the \u201cintolerable pressure\u201d facing staff and patients<\/a> and called for a \u201cconcerted effort\u201d from the Department of Health to support staff and prepare for the winter.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, another symptom of the pressures facing emergency departments was highlighted – patients who end up being treated in hospital corridors.<\/p>\n![\"Online](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1745582528_344_DV4A2B3OMVPTVLMO6NF3TSYG4U.jpg\")
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