Altnagelvin emergency care department fails to meet ministerial target for last quarter of 2015

The agreed ministerial target for 2015/16 is for no less than 95 per cent of patients attending emergency care departments to be treated, discharged or admitted within fours. The target also states that no patient should have to wait more than 12 hours for treatment.

Altnagelvin Area Hospital is one of ten Type One emergency care departments in the North. None of the ten departments in the North achieved the ministerial target from October to December.

In the last quarter of 2015, 15,134 people attended the emergency care department in Atlnagelvin Area Hospital.

In October, November and December 72.6 per cent, 70.4 per cent and 72.2 per cent of patients were treated, discharged or admitted within four hours.

A total of 12 people waited more than 12 hours for treatment in Altnagelvin Area Hospital’s emergency care department from October to December.

The average percentage of patients treated, discharged or admitted within four hours throughout the North for October to December was 72.8 per cent, 71 per cent and 70.9 per cent respectively.

The total number of people who attended Type One emergency care departments in the North from October to December 2015 was 151,893.

A Type One emergency care department is defined as a consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, providing both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services on a round the clock basis.