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Waiting time

Posted By starzs35

"Waiting time"

About: Craigavon Area Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a service user),

I had been waiting 12 hours in a&e and then told another four hours to speak to a doctor. No blood results etc can be given until spoken to the doctor.

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Responses

Response from Jill Green, Ward Manager, Emergency Department, Craigavon Area Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust yesterday
Jill Green
Ward Manager, Emergency Department, Craigavon Area Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 18/07/2025 at 13:08
Published on Care Opinion at 13:08

Good afternoon starzs25,

Thank you for taking the time to post, I apologise that you had such a long waiting time whilst in the emergency department.

The ED is unfortunately consistently overcrowded. The main reason for long waiting times is that we have large numbers of patients in ED who are waiting to go to an inpatient ward. This leaves very limited capacity of cubicles for our doctors to see new patients. I want to assure you this waiting time is not something that we normalise and the team in ED do our best to prioritise and get patients seen as soon as we possibly can depending on their clinical presentation and acuity.

The reason you have to wait to see a doctor to speak about blood results is because those results on their own don't always lead to diagnosis or treatment. At times other investigations are needed and by the doctor discussing results with you means you will receive correct information based on your individual presentation.

Again, I apologise that you had to endure such a long waiting time and this lead to a negative experience. I hope that you got the treatment you needed and are recovering well.

Best Wishes

Sister Green.

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