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BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nAddressing reporters, O’Neill said it was “dire” not just for patients waiting on a bed, but also for healthcare staff.<\/p>\n “We’ve work to do – one minister will not solve that, there needs to be a collective effort,” she said.<\/p>\n “The public want to hear what we’re going to do about it, we know what the challenges are and the issue of discharges into social care aren’t there – that’s what I want the executive to talk about.”<\/p>\n Last week, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt announced flu vaccines, currently available for free to those aged 65 and over, would be extended to the 50-64 age group.<\/p>\n Nesbitt also said he plans to increase the wages for social care workers in a bid to “stabilise” the health system.<\/p>\n During the crisis last week, the Department of Health said longer-term solutions to the problems required sustained investment and reform. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n A cold snap coupled with the winter flu surge were factors in the delays of the last two weeks.<\/p>\n At one point hundreds of people were waiting for more than 12 hours in Northern Ireland’s nine emergency departments, with more than 1,000 waiting to be treated in total.<\/p>\n A lack of care in the community meant hospitals had difficulties discharging patients, leading to longer wait times to be admitted.<\/p>\n Two elderly patients were reported to have been in the Royal Victoria Hospital’s emergency department for more than five days.<\/p>\n One nurse from the hospital said staff were treating “the most vulnerable elderly sick patients in an intolerable environment”.<\/a><\/p>\n The vice-chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Northern Ireland said the issues in emergency departments were “at the worst we’ve ever been”.<\/p>\n Dr Michael Perry added that a 12-hour wait for a bed was probably a “conservative estimate”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Sunday, a consultant surgeon said that Northern Ireland’s emergency departments have been in the midst of a “perfect storm” due to ongoing “immense pressure”<\/a> and flu.<\/p>\n Prof Mark Taylor, from the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON), said the lack of flow throughout hospitals was having serious consequences.<\/p>\n Prof Taylor also said that at 10:00 GMT on Saturday there were 532 people who were medically fit for discharge, across NI hospitals, but could not be discharged into the community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘Public want to hear what we’re going to do’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
How long are A&E waiting times?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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