Ulster Unionist Party Health Spokesperson, Roy Beggs MLA, has said that the latest A&E crisis is a consequence of recent ill-thought-out decisions to reduce services and an abdication of political leadership from the current Health Minister.
The East Antrim MLA was speaking after a major incident was declared at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital due to a backlog of patients at the A&E department.
Mr Beggs said;
“The scenes witnessed in the A&E unit in the RVH on Wednesday night were truly shocking. The staff, as always, were entirely professional in their work but I dread to think the amount of pressure which they were working under. Not only was the crisis on Wednesday night unfair on the patients who had to sit for hours on trolleys, but also for the staff who were expected to carry out their vital work under such difficult conditions.
“It is my firm opinion that the widespread problems being encountered in A&Es are a direct response of poor decisions made by the Health Minister and the mismanagement of the Trusts.
“How are the people in the Lisburn area for instance expected to have any confidence that a viable A&E service still exists for them following the latest reduction in the Lagan Valley’s services when they see what can happen in the RVH on a relatively non-descript Wednesday night. I dread to think what would happen in a major emergency or a period of bad weather.
“We must remember that in a meeting with the Assembly Health Committee on the 20th July 2011 Edwin Poots said he wanted major structural changes to A&E services in Belfast. Within months it was announced that the A&E unit in the Belfast City Hospital was closing ‘temporarily’, conveniently citing ‘staffing concerns’. Of course it was later to close for good. That is despite the fact that in 2010/11 alone there were over 45,000 attendances to that particular A&E unit. Is it really any wonder the RVH is buckling under the pressure?
“There was also a strikingly similar pattern with the Lagan Valley Hospital which also reduced its services to daytime and weekends only in the Summer of 2011. Again we were assured that this would only be temporary until staffing issues were resolved. In fact the opposite happened with the A&E unit now also closing at weekends, further adding to the strain on the RVH.
“The Minister can try to pass the blame for these reckless decisions and their serious consequences but I simply will not accept that. Under his watch Accident and Emergency services across Northern Ireland have stumbled from one crisis to another; whether it was in the Royal, the Ulster or Antrim Area. Similarly A&E waiting times have also skyrocketed over recent years.
“It is quite clear the current A&E policies are not fit for purpose and need urgent review. In the short-term however, I would urge the Minister to relieve the pressure by providing immediate additional resources to all A&E units and reinstating services in the Lagan Valley and Downe Hospital. I would also call on him to investigate the feasibility of returning services to the Belfast City Hospital until such necessary provisions are in place in the Royal. Until then these earlier decisions to close services are going to continue to be an unmitigated disaster.”