OVER 590 PATIENTS WAITED OVER 24 HOURS IN A&E IN NORTHERN IRELAND Jan-Sept 2013

12/2/2013

FIGURES OBTAINED BY SAVE THE MID

DURING JAN-AUG 2013:
592 PATIENTS WAITED OVER 24 HOURS IN A&E
3,334 PATIENTS WAITED 12-24 HOURS IN A&E

The disturbing truth of the attempt to create “Golden Hospitals” in North Ireland has backfired, 3 successive health ministers in have failed in an attempt to centralize health.

Barbrie De Bruin through her Acute Hospital review in 2001 led to the complete loss of acute services in Dungannon & Omagh and destabilised acute services in Mid Ulster & Whiteabbey. Later named Developing Better Services was used to remove health services across Northern Ireland fromm local areas, the problem was no replacement was made in the remaining ones.

Michael McGimpsey through the Comprehensive Spending Review 2008 led to the complete loss of acute services in Mid Ulster & Whiteabbey and destabilised acute services in Downpatrick and South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust.

Edwin Poots through Transforming Your Care has already destabilised statutory residential care for children, mental health and elderly patients, Belfast City A&E was removed. Also the Causeway neo natal is all but closed, no replacement MRI scanner and A&E now destabilised and facing downgrading.

The price that local hospitals and health services are paying to try and create the “Golden Hospitals” is all but total shutdown, but are our “Golden Hospitals” shining?

Hugh McCloy - Save The Mid

EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT FROM FORMER NORTHERN HEALTH TRUST CHAIR JIM STEWART - READ MORE

BREAKDOWN OF THE PERFORMANCE OF ACUTE A&ES IN NORTHERN IRELAND & HOW NONE ARE MEETING THE 95% TARGET - READ MORE

The Mid Ulster example:

Earmarked for downgrading by Barbrie De Bruins, Developing Better Services, at that time the Mid Ulster Hospital was the only hospital in Northern Ireland that had a 100% acute 200 bed compliment. When these beds were lost were they replaced in Antrim? The answer is no. Antrim Area Hospital which was to be built in 2 phases has only ever since phase on built, numerous references can be made that it will need more inpatient beds in phase 2 to cope with the closure of Mid Ulster hospital.

In 2006 in a risk assessment carried out by Deloitte Touché that was commissioned by the health board stated that the most dangerous thing to do in terms of patient safety and the ability of Antrim to cope with the extra patients was to shut down acute services in Mid Ulster without phase 2 of Antrim, 200 extra beds, being built.

Since 2006 we have seen chaos at Antrim and right across Northern Ireland in our A&E’s, Ambulance performance and operations being called off. We have seen waiting lists run into the 10’000’s of thousands leading to millions being spent sending patients to the private sector. Health Trusts who have specific targets to meet are being allowed backstops so that they can miss targets and not face any consequence, these came from the Health & Social Care board headed by John Compton.

The reality that we live in now is phase 2 will never come; the new A&E while welcome will not be enough on its own.

THE WESTERN TRUST REFUSED TO ANSWER, OTHER TRUSTS PERFORMANCE PATINETS WAITING OVER 24 HOURS IN A&E SHOWN BELOW

The only thing the health trusts are becoming good at is hiding the truth, specially named holding wards are developed to put patients into to stop the A&E clocks, there are 1,000’s of patients returning to hospital 30 days after discharge due to them being discharged in the first place to make room, operations called off due to no beds, ambulances diverted from A&Es as they are full, quite simply put has led to the death of patients in our health system.

Is The Antrim Area Hospital Our Mid Staff Scandal
The warning signs that were missed in the investigation to the Mid Staff hospital in England are all very apparent in the Northern Health & Social Care Trust yet Edwin Poots has yet to make any move that will increase inpatients capacity at Antrim or utilise Mid Ulster Hospital. There are 9 serious Adverse incidents into deaths in the Northern Health & Social Care Trust acute hospitals during 2012/13, its performance while bad has been subject to challenges on accuracy due to the use of short stay wards to hold patients to get them of the A&E clock, it is grossly under staffed and grossly under bedded despite claims by Edwin Poots that more beds have been made available. Despite a new 24 bedded ward the net number of beds in Antrim did not increase as while a new one opened others closed.

Edwin Poots along with several health managers need removed and held accountable for these deaths, ever since Norma Evans was forced out as CEO of the Northern Trust to make room for the reign of the Donaghy brothers the Northern Trust has seen scandal after scandal that has been covered up by John Compton and Health Ministers. So terrible was the Donaghy brothers reign that when Colm Donaghy moved to the Belfast Trust his brother Sean was the only person to apply for the vacant CEO post.

Norma Evans was very vocal in her concerns of shutting down the local hospitals without creating more resources at Antrim, she was removed, Valarie Jackson former acute director stated after the Rutter & Hinds report that the 90% of these waiting in A&E were waiting for beds after this disclosure she was removed, Jim Stewart who again was vocal about the capacity was removed.

Everyone who voiced concern about the capacity of Antrim has been removed and replaced with those who the Health Minster knows will carry out the shutdown agenda , it is time to hold them all to account and I offer the health Minister a public debate on this if he is ever willing to accept it.

REFERENCES

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