COVID-19 - Service Pressures

COVID-19 – Service Pressures

Health and Social Care (HSC) continues to respond to the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19 during the current surge of the pandemic in Northern Ireland.

These challenges are causing significant disruption across all health and care services, including lengthy delays in our Emergency Departments (EDs) and cancellations of some planned appointments and treatment.

The following update provides a regional overview of the current pressures and challenges across the HSC System in Northern Ireland.

Number of people in Emergency Departments

Snapshot at 12 noon on 29 November 2021

Trust	Hospital	0-4 hours	Over 4 – 8 hours	Over 8 to 12 hours	Over 12 hours	Total Waiting in Emergency Department	*Number of Patients Waiting for Admission to a Hospital Bed (DTA)*	*ED Attendances* *midnight on 27th to midnight on 28th*
Belfast	MATER	10	1	2	6	19	9	69
Belfast	RVH	36	6	4	20	66	22	258
Belfast	Belfast Total	46	7	6	26	85	31	327
Northern	ANTRIM	44	4	6	33	87	49	230
Northern	CAUSEWAY	14	4	0	2	20	3	99
Northern	Northern Total	58	8	6	35	107	52	329
South Eastern	ULSTER	68	4	6	44	122	50	217
South Eastern	South East Total	68	4	6	44	122	50	217
Southern	CRAIGAVON	39	3	4	22	68	24	159
Southern	DAISY HILL	22	2	4	10	38	11	139
Southern	Southern Total	61	5	8	32	106	35	298
Western	ALTNAGELVIN	34	4	3	19	60	19	162
Western	SWAH	15	4	3	9	31	13	79
Western	Western Total	49	8	6	28	91	32	241
Regional Position	Regional Total	282	32	32	165	511	200	1412

This information is updated Monday-Friday.
The information is taken from a live, operational dashboard and only provides a snapshot of Emergency Departments at a particular point in time. Therefore, as the situation in Emergency Departments is very dynamic, the information cannot and should not be taken as the definitive position.
Information provided relates to Type 1 sites only. Type 1 departments are defined as those with a consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, providing both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services on a round the clock basis.
In Emergency Departments, the sickest and most critically injured patients will be prioritised. People with less serious conditions unfortunately may have to wait longer to be seen, treated, and either discharged or admitted to a hospital bed. Please consider other services, including Urgent Care Centres (which are now running in RVH in Belfast and Downe Hospitals), Minor Injury Units, GP Out of Hours, or your own GP. Pharmacists now also have additional services in place and can also offer advice and treatment for common conditions and refer patients to other healthcare professionals as appropriate.

Emergency Department Figures

(Updated every Monday at approximately 4pm)
Weekly Position: 19 November – 25 November 2021

Trust	Hospital	ED Attendances	Number of Waits > 12hrs	% of Waits <4 hrs	Non-Elective Admissions
Belfast	MATER	450	53	47%	128
Belfast	RVH	1,914	310	47%	530
Belfast	BCH				27
Belfast	RBHSC	1,061	13	57%	141
Belfast	Belfast Total	3,425	376	50%	826
Northern	ANTRIM	1,611	198	54%	392
Northern	CAUSEWAY	785	59	64%	157
Northern	Northern Total	2,396	257	57%	549
South Eastern	ULSTER	1,790	329	48%	503
South Eastern	LAGAN VALLEY	397	1	85%	48
South Eastern	South East Total	2,187	330	54%	551
Southern	CRAIGAVON	1,383	215	46%	384
Southern	DAISY HILL	940	92	56%	250
Southern	Southern Total	2,323	307	50%	634
Western	ALTNAGELVIN	1,128	141	46%	361
Western	SWAH	683	93	55%	158
Western	OMAGH	269	0	100%	66
Western	Western Total	2,080	234	56%	585
Regional Position	Regional Total	12,411	1,504	53%	3,145

Information provided relates to Type 1 and Type 2 ED sites. Type 1 departments are defined as those with a consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, providing both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services on around the clock basis. Type 2 departments are consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, but do not provide both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services and/or has time-limited opening hours.

[Source: Health and Social Care Board]

Cancelled elective procedures

HSC Trusts continue to make extremely difficult decisions to cancel some elective procedures to free nursing and medical resources to support the Intensive Care Units and the increasing number of patients with COVID-19 admitted to medical wards.

Unfortunately, cancer services have been adversely affected. Trusts are working very hard to maintain cancer care in so far as that is possible during the current surge.

Cancer services are seeking to maintain chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other non-surgical treatments and alternative treatments will be provided in the absence of surgical options.

A regional approach has also been developed to ensure that any available theatre capacity across Northern Ireland is allocated for those patients most in need of surgery, both during the surge and as we come out of this surge.

HSC is working to ensure that any cancelled procedures are rescheduled as soon as possible.

Cancellations will be kept under review as the impact of COVID-19 is being felt in all areas of the system and it is anticipated that this pressure will continue over the next number of weeks.

HSC would like to apologise to those patients, their families and carers who have been affected by surgeries being postponed and for any anxiety and distress caused to them.

From 19 November to 25 November 2021

In total 6201 elective procedures (inpatient and daycase admission and regular attenders) were scheduled of which:

6042 elective procedures (inpatient and daycase admission and regular attenders) went ahead as planned.
There were 159 cancellations (3%).
Of the 159 cancellations, there were: – 68 Red Flag suspected cancer procedures or confirmed cancer procedures cancelled. Trusts are actively working to offer new dates as soon as possible.

From 12 November to 18 November 2021

In total 5642 elective procedures (inpatient and daycase admission and regular attenders) were scheduled of which:

5521 elective procedures (inpatient and daycase admission and regular attenders) went ahead as planned.
There were 121 cancellations (2%).
Of the 121 cancellations, there were: – 44 Red Flag suspected cancer procedures or confirmed cancer procedures cancelled. Trusts are actively working to offer new dates as soon as possible.

From 5 November to 11 November 2021

In total 6085 elective procedures (inpatient and daycase admission and regular attenders) were scheduled of which:

5964 elective procedures (inpatient and daycase admission and regular attenders) went ahead as planned.
There were 121 cancellations (2%).
Of the 121 cancellations, there were: – 54 Red Flag suspected cancer procedures or confirmed cancer procedures cancelled. Trusts are actively working to offer new dates as soon as possible.

Bed pressures

Visit the Department of Health’s COVID-19 Dashboard and click on the General Bed Occupancy link for all the latest bed information across hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Department of Health’s COVID-19 Dashboard

Covid Centre update

There are currently 10 primary care COVID-19 centres across Northern Ireland. They are located in Belfast, Ballymena, Coleraine, Newtownards, Downpatrick, Lisburn, Banbridge, Dungannon, Altnagelvin and South West Acute Hospital.

COVID-19 centres are a GP-led innovation that was an urgent and immediate response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The centres ensure that primary care services can be maintained, by enabling patients who have COVID-19 symptoms to be treated separately from those patients who have other conditions which require assessment or treatment in primary care.

From 6 April 2020 to 3 October 2021

It is projected that there were 240,667 COVID-19 related queries in General Practice across Northern Ireland from 6 April 2020 to 5 September 2021. This figure is (as always) subject to ongoing validation efforts and changes made to the counting system to improve speed of returns by the HSCB.
57,616 Patients triaged and referred to Primary Care COVID-19 centres across Northern Ireland in that time period. 13% of patients assessed at these centres were then referred to secondary care.

From 27 September 2021 to 3 October 2021

696 referrals

[Source: Health and Social Care Board]

Further information

For enquiries about the information available on this page contact the Communications Office at the Health and Social Care Board Tel: 028 9536 3278