Altnagelvin Hospital: Patient waits four days in ED for bed in hospital

Dr Sandy Nelson says the hospital in Londonderry is under "extraordinary pressure"

A patient who waited four days for a bed at Altnagelvin Hospital's Emergency Department (ED) has now been admitted to a ward, the Western Trust has said.

In a video posted on social media earlier on Monday, an emergency medicine consultant said the hospital was facing "extraordinary pressure".

Dr Sandy Nelson said some patients were having to wait in hospital corridors.

Dr Nelson urged members of the public to only attend the ED in an emergency and where they have no other option.

A trust spokesperson said on Monday evening that there were 94 patients in the emergency department with 25 of them waiting for a bed.

Speaking earlier on Monday, Dr Nelson said: "I've got patients sitting on corridors in chairs for 24 hours before we can physically put them in a bed for them to have a lie down," he said.

"In these circumstances we're all under extreme pressure."

Dr Nelson pleaded with people to "only attend if it is an emergency" due to the ongoing pressures.

"We will see patients with true medical emergencies and psychological emergencies as soon as we can," he said.

He asked for people to come alone to the emergency department if they are able to do so.

Dr Nelson also pleaded for those attending to be courteous to staff and give them the "respect they deserve" as they deal with a backlog of patients.

The ongoing pressures facing the health service have been under increased scrutiny in recent weeks, with some people reporting long waits for ambulances.

Last week, it was revealed that ambulance delays could have been a contributing factor in the deaths of 14 people in Northern Ireland in the past year.