Additional Staff Called In To RVH

The Belfast Health Trust has confirmed that some of Northern Ireland's emergency departments have been under pressure within the last 24 hours.

One of those hospitals affected was the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in the city.

It is understood additional staff were brought into the emergency department on Monday to help deal with the number of people needing treatment.

The move comes just weeks after a "major incident" was declared at the RVH when a large backlog of patients led to many people facing lengthy waits to receive treatment. At one stage, more than 40 people were waiting on trolleys.

In relation to Monday's incident, the Belfast Health Trust released a statement saying that it had initiated "escalation plans", but had not declared it a major incident.

It added that the emergency departments at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald and the Antrim Area Hospital has been very busy with the number of patients needing treatment.

Sinn Féin MLA Maeve McLaughlin, who is also the chair of the Health Committee, said the initiation of an "escalation measure" by staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital demonstrated the pressure that existed within the health system.

She said: "For the past 18 months we have stated that the current situation is symptomatic of the overall downgrading of A&E's across our hospitals and the need to address not just the closure of A&E departments but also where these departments feed to within our hospitals.

"The review that the minister has announced must be fast tracked. In the interim he must introduce measures to ensure we do not have a major incident called again in the coming weeks."

(JP/CD)