Patient waited more than two weeks in emergency department

Conditions in emergency departments (EDs) are "soul destroying", a doctor has said after it was revealed that one patient waited more than 330 hours inside a unit.

New figures, obtained by BBC News NI, show that in a seven-month period to January this year, one patient waited two weeks at the Ulster Hospital, while another waited 11 days at the Mater in Belfast.

Dr Clodagh Corrigan, deputy chairwoman of the British Medical Association in Northern Ireland, said conditions in EDs for staff and patients were "horrific".

In a statement, the Department of Health (DoH) acknowledged that waiting times in EDs "fall well below the standard of care that we strive to provide".

Dr Corrigan, who is a specialist doctor, has called on the department to spend its money more effectively.

A Freedom of Information request from BBC News NI revealed that every health trust in Northern Ireland experienced patient waits of about week or more.

The Northern Health Trust said a wait of more than 10 days for a patient in Antrim Area Hospital was because they needed to be isolated in a side room for other people's safety.

"If there's space, it's taken up by somebody," said Dr Corrigan.

She added that patients who might be vomiting or suffering from diarrhoea were queuing for the one toilet available in a unit.

"It's a soul-destroying work environment. You can't give the care you want to give," she said.

"You certainly aren't giving the care you're trained to give. It's not the care you'd want your family to receive."

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Source: BBC News, 26 June 2025