Unscheduled Care 'Improvements' In NI

Health Minister Jim Wells has said progress is being made in the delivery of unscheduled care in Northern Ireland.

The Minister made the comments following a review carried out by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), which are being implemented by the Regional Task Group.

In a written Statement to the Assembly, Mr Wells said: "The task group’s immediate action was to oversee and coordinate a range of actions to support the reform of urgent and emergency care services and the implementation of the RQIA's recommendations. To achieve this, the whole system will have to work together, including our GPs, Ambulance Service, community care teams and staff in acute hospitals."

The report found that, during the last year, the Health and Social Care sector (HSC) achieved a 44% reduction in the number of patients waiting longer than 12 hours. The first six months of 2014/15 saw the lowest number of 12-hour waits in five years.

But the report also said that the Belfast Trust had been the exception in that respect. "While I recognise that some progress has been made, the Trust in recent months has continued to experience, unlike most other Trusts, high levels of patients waiting more than 12 hours," the Minister said.

"I would expect to see and require significant improvement when I receive the follow-up unannounced inspection report by the RQIA later this year."

Commenting on impending winter pressures, Mr Wells said: "In addition to the specific responses to the RQIA recommendations, the Regional Task Group is also overseeing a range of work to ensure that urgent and emergency care services are prepared in advance of the winter. I have allocated £5m from the recent October monitoring round to ensure that winter pressures are eased. To date some £2.3m of this funding has been allocated to Trusts, including the Ambulance Service, to fully fund or contribute to the costs of a range of measures to improve unscheduled care and patient flow."

(IT/MH)