Paddy Leonard, 21 Jul
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan has expressed serious concerns around the
situation unfolding in Emergency Departments across the North. He has
been liaising with the Western Trust in recent months regarding serious
concerns around patients’ safety at Altnagelvin ED as well as
campaigning for the restoration of relative rooms for Intensive Care
Unit patients.
The Foyle MLA said: “The scenes we’re witnessing in our hospital
Emergency Departments resemble what we’d expect in war torn countries.
People waiting for days in pain along hospital corridors and patients
sleeping on floors of waiting rooms.
“Frontline health services are on the brink of collapse and the staff
struggling to keep services afloat are at absolute breaking point. I’ve
received countless accounts from constituents about their experience of
Altnagelvin Emergency Department and it’s harrowing.
“We’re talking seriously ill people sitting for days in the chaos of
waiting rooms until a bed becomes available. Families whose loved ones
are being treated in ICU forced into corridors, not afforded privacy as
they await news on their condition.
“I’ve heard of multiple instances whereby patients in Derry are opting
to seek emergency care at hospitals in Omagh and Belfast to negate
lengthy delays at Altnagelvin.
“This is by no means a reflection of the efforts of health staff who
continue to go above and beyond. It is shameful that they have been
forced to operate under such pressures. The dearth of nursing staff was
impacting patient safety four years ago, that situation has now
escalated from crisis to chaos.
“We need an executive in place to address these immediate challenges
and ensure people can access adequate healthcare. People aren’t just
suffering in the absence of an Executive but lives are being lost. This
cannot continue.”