24/04/2026
Alliance Call for Urgent Healthcare Reform as ED Waiting Times Surge
Alliance Health spokesperson Danny Donnelly MLA has issued a sharp critique of the current pace of healthcare transformation following the release of new Emergency Department (ED) statistics. The latest figures from the Department of Health reveal that the number of patients waiting over 12 hours in Northern Ireland's EDs has risen by more than 14 per cent.
The East Antrim MLA described the situation as "utterly unacceptable" and warned that the systemic failure to implement reforms is directly endangering patient safety and costing lives. He pointed to recent data from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which associated over 1,000 excess deaths in Northern Ireland in 2025 with prolonged emergency waiting times—a figure that has more than doubled over the last five years.
Danny Donnelly MLA stated: "These statistics, whilst extremely worrying, are sadly unsurprising. Year after year, we're presented with outrageous wait times in our Emergency Departments that continue to get worse.
"A 14 per cent increase in 12 hour waits is utterly unacceptable. The current situation is continuing to cost lives, and these statistics serve as a stark reminder that healthcare transformation is not happening quickly enough.
"Just last week, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine confirmed that there were over 1,000 excess deaths in Northern Ireland in 2025 associated with long waiting times in ED. This has more than doubled in the last 5 years."
The Alliance Party has consistently advocated for a more integrated approach to solve the "bed-blocking" crisis, calling for better coordination between emergency services, community care, and social care. The goal is to ensure that patients who are medically fit for discharge can leave hospital promptly, thereby freeing up capacity for new admissions.
Mr Donnelly concluded: "Patients don't have time to waste, and Alliance has continuously called for joined-up working between emergency, community and social care so that medically fit patients can be discharged from hospital and capacity freed up for new ones coming in.
"The solutions are there, and it's extremely frustrating that these reforms are taking so long to be implemented. The Minister can no longer sit back while staff remain overstretched and patient safety is at risk."
The East Antrim MLA described the situation as "utterly unacceptable" and warned that the systemic failure to implement reforms is directly endangering patient safety and costing lives. He pointed to recent data from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which associated over 1,000 excess deaths in Northern Ireland in 2025 with prolonged emergency waiting times—a figure that has more than doubled over the last five years.
Danny Donnelly MLA stated: "These statistics, whilst extremely worrying, are sadly unsurprising. Year after year, we're presented with outrageous wait times in our Emergency Departments that continue to get worse.
"Just last week, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine confirmed that there were over 1,000 excess deaths in Northern Ireland in 2025 associated with long waiting times in ED. This has more than doubled in the last 5 years."
The Alliance Party has consistently advocated for a more integrated approach to solve the "bed-blocking" crisis, calling for better coordination between emergency services, community care, and social care. The goal is to ensure that patients who are medically fit for discharge can leave hospital promptly, thereby freeing up capacity for new admissions.
Mr Donnelly concluded: "Patients don't have time to waste, and Alliance has continuously called for joined-up working between emergency, community and social care so that medically fit patients can be discharged from hospital and capacity freed up for new ones coming in.
"The solutions are there, and it's extremely frustrating that these reforms are taking so long to be implemented. The Minister can no longer sit back while staff remain overstretched and patient safety is at risk."
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Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Heavy showers at first but these dying out for a time. Further showers will then spread east overnight but the east coast should stay mainly dry. Minimum temperature 7 °C.