Concerns After Antrim Hospital Diverts Patients

Concerns have been raised after temporary measures were put in place at Antrim Area Hospital over the weekend.

The measures, enforced by the Northern Trust, saw a number of patients requiring non-emergency treatment at the hospital being transferred to the Causeway Hospital, about a 50 minute drive way.

It said the measures were put in place due to "resource issues".

Initially, the ambulance service said the measure was put in place for between 10am and 2pm on Sunday, but this was later extended to 6pm. It is understood the move did not affect the hospital's emergency department and no patients were affected by the diversion.

A spokesperson for the Trust said the action was "not unusual" and is "designed to keep patients flowing through hospitals."

However, Stewart Dickson, Alliance East Antrim MLA, has expressed his concern at the development, saying: "While I understand that there was only minimal disruption, I am concerned that this is the latest in a series of measures that have been put in place at different hospitals as a result of resource issues.

"The Health Minister must take urgent action to prevent any such measure being put in place again.

"While there are questions over the Health Minister's performance, I have to pay tribute to the hard working and dedicated staff in our hospitals. They are doing a magnificent job and I cannot thank them enough for their work."

The latest measures follow two other incidents at Northern Ireland's hospitals in recent weeks. Last month, additional staff were brought into the emergency department at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) to help deal with the large number of people needing treatment; while in January, a "major incident" was declared at the RVH when a significant backlog of patients led to many people facing lengthy waits to receive treatment.

(JP)