Councillor is critical of health trust

Councillor is critical of health trust

6 February 2013 - by BY DAVID TELFORD

PATIENTS from Down District were among a group of 1,200 who had to wait for over an hour last year to be admitted to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald when taken there by ambulance.

The figure was obtained by councillor Colin McGrath as a result of a Freedom of Information request to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

The Downpatrick councillor said the figures detail how long ambulances must wait at the Ulster before patients are passed to medical staff. He said the number of instances where ambulances had to wait over one hour at the Ulster has doubled over each of the past five years, except for 2010-11 when it tripled.

“Last year, 1,232 ambulances waited more than one hour at the Ulster and this is having a direct impact on the people of Down District,” argued councillor McGrath. “An ambulance parked outside a Dundonald hospital is not responding to the medical needs of the people of our area.”

The Downpatrick councillor said he feels sorry for ambulance staff, suggesting they feel like “chaperons” as they wait for medical staff to clear space at the Ulster.

He continued: “This situation is undoubtedly as a result of the reduced capacity at the Downe Hospital to receive medical cases as laid down in a memorandum between the South Eastern Trust and the Ambulance Service. It also highlights the under usage of the Downpatrick hospital and pressures from the closure of the City Hospital’s emergency department.”

Councillor McGrath said he believes that with a small amount of effort, the Downpatrick hospital could be developed to deal with more complex medical cases and prevent the need for ambulances to wait outside an already stretched Ulster Hospital.

The South Eastern Trust said it is “extremely disappointed” at how the information obtained by councillor McGrath has been represented in public.

A spokeswoman for the organisation said the number of ambulances arriving at the Ulster Hospital has increased year-on-year over the past five years, with a 30 per cent overall increase and a 12 per cent increase from 2011 to 2012.

“This most recent increase has been extraordinary to say the least with 2,257 more ambulances arriving last year. Remarkably, our staff have actually increased the number of ambulances turned around within one hour from 18,142 in 2011 to 19,686 in 2012, an extra 1,544 ambulances turned around in under an hour. This is an incredible achievement in the face of tremendous pressure at the Emergency Department (ED).

“Last year there were actually more ambulances turned around in one hour than the total ambulances turned around in each of the previous four years. Unfortunately, this incredible achievement by our staff has not been acknowledged.”

The spokeswoman said the Trust would point out that the ED team at the Ulster has made “fantastic progress” in respect of the number of ambulance patients being assessed within 15 minutes of arrival.

She continued: “This clinical standard is an important quality indicator set down by the College of Emergency Medicine and the Ulster ED has excelled at meeting this standard.”