Marie-Louise ConnollyBBC News NI health correspondent
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The report is a snapshot of five days in March in emergency departments (EDs) across the UK
More people in Northern Ireland are treated in hospital corridors compared to elsewhere in the UK, according to a new report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
The report carried out by The Trainee Emergency Medicine Research Network (TERN) is a snapshot of five days in March in emergency departments (EDs) across the UK.
Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Northern Ireland, Dr Michael Perry, described the results as “completely unacceptable”.
“Those in power in Northern Ireland must do better. This is horrific. Corridor care is undignified; it compromises confidentiality and causes harm. It must be eradicated,” Dr Perry said.
Dr Michael Perry, vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, recently said HSCNI staff were “demoralised” and “angry”
A total of 165 EDs across the UK were monitored, including Craigavon Area, The Ulster, Royal Victoria and Antrim Area hospitals in Northern Ireland.
The research study headline is one in five people across the UK are cared for in escalation or corridor areas, in NI that figure is one in three.
The study also found that between 10-25% of EDs have no available resuscitation cubicle.
The biggest problem was found to be patient flow throughout the system – being able to discharge patients home when their hospital care is complete in order to admit others.
The RCEM said the figures confirm that corridor care is “endemic” in the UK and that these figures reveal the scale of the problem which ED staff have been describing for years.
UK College President Dr Ian Higginson said tackling the problem required investment.
“That doesn’t mean more money but instead how we choose to spend the money on keeping people out of hospital and what is spent on the number of hospital beds,” Dr Higginson said.
“We are calling on all the devolved nations to commit to eradicating corridor care” he said.
‘Inhumane’
Speaking on Good Morning Ulster, Dr Perry called the situation “scandalous”.
“It’s a nightmare situation for patients and for staff all year round,” he said.
He called it a “national problem,” but added that “the study demonstrates how far behind we are” in Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
Dr Perry said the main issue for hospitals is the “lack of flow” and called it “inhumane for people to be treated that way”.
“We have over 500 patients currently in our hospitals in Northern Ireland who have had their medical treatment completed, but can’t be discharged because of social care or social care needs.”
“That’s an enormous amount of functional beds that we can’t use in the system, because we cant get patients discharged out the backdoor of the hospital.”
He said: “The government and the executive need to come together to tackle this.”