By Kevin Mullan

Copyright derryjournal

Sinn Féin’s Pádraig Delargy raised the matter with Health Minister Mike Nesbitt at Stormont. “What immediate action are you taking to ensure that the waiting times, which are already twice as long as those across the rest of the North, are not repeated and do not worsen this winter?” he asked. Mr. Nesbitt replied: “The trust is very aware, as are the other trusts, of my opinion on how we need to leave no stone unturned in trying to address waiting lists in those EDs. That is well understood. In the short term, the scope is limited by geography and budget, but that is not to say that we do not do everything that we can. “To my mind, it is not just about the patients. While that is critical, it is also about the nurses and doctors and the moral injury that they feel because they are not permitted to make the best decisions that they know they can make.” A Western Trust spokesperson said: “We are acutely aware of the continuing challenges and extreme pressures not just in our ED but also across our acute hospital sites. Pressures are not unique to the Western Trust area and are being experienced across NI.” The Trust has implemented ‘a robust reform plan to remodel patient flow and site co-ordination, with senior oversight to focus on flow out of hospital and from the ED to inpatient beds or alternative pathways such as our Respiratory Hub or Ambulatory Care Unit’. The Trust also has close engagement with community discharge teams to facilitate discharges of patients. The spokesperson continued: “A number of key areas within the reform plan include the investment in three additional ED Consultants in Altnagelvin, the increase in staffing to the ambulance offload area and the opening of eight additional inpatient beds in the Ambulatory Care Unit. The ACU allows patients to be assessed, diagnosed and treated without needing to be taken to an inpatient bed or having an overnight stay in hospital. “The Trust has also invested in ED Senior nursing cover to provide 24/7 senior cover, and continues to have ongoing engagement with regional control centre to manage hospital pressures regionally.” “In addition, the Trust has secured funding for some works to the ED at Altnagelvin Hospital to improve patient/staff experience, these include the provision of additional toilet and shower facilities, additional vending area and an upgrade of the current staff kitchen/rest area.” At Stormont Mr. Nesbitt alluded to the need for a new Altnagelvin ED. “Two of the seven emergency departments that I visited — the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast — were very modern. “When I go to a really busy ED where the waits are measured in days rather than hours, I notice that nurses, doctors, clinicians and healthcare professionals know the right thing to do for a patient, but they end up having to decide on the least worst option so that they can move on to look after the next person. It is partly the environment and partly the demand,” he declared. Over 133 patients in Altnagelvin A&E as WHSCT reports ‘very challenged position’ at Derry hospital