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Delays in Emergency Department

Posted By CAH63

"Delays in Emergency Department"

About: Craigavon Area Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I was sent to ED Craigavon by my GP who recommended an x-ray. I arrived at 5.30pm and receptionist was unable to give me an estimated waiting time. After about 1 hour I was called to triage and then sent back to waiting room to be called for bloods.

After a few hours wait I had bloods done and again back to waiting room and then triaged every 3-4 hours after that. What I witnessed while waiting was unbelievable. Patients being sick, diabetic patients with low sugar levels and dementia patients wandering about aimlessly in a state of confusion around the long waits etc. One relative actually took ill while waiting and then ended up a patient. During this time there was absolutely no communication regarding the delay or the estimated waiting times.

After a 16 Hour wait I was called to the Green Area. When in this area the waiting continued. Eventually a doctor appeared, although only for a few minutes before they were called to another patient and we were left again. At this stage I was in agony, hungry, exhausted and frustrated. My husband had to eventually go and ask again for help and then a doctor arrived. They were was amazing. I was sent for an x-ray and then the doctor returned to give me my diagnosis etc. They went over and above to make me comfortable and even went and made us tea and toast after hearing that we had been waiting 22 Hours.

I appreciate that this is the situation throughout all the Trusts and problem being with delays in having patients admitted to wards in the Hospital. I would suggest if this is the new normal then communication would need to improve. Patients in the waiting room should be advised of estimated waiting times etc. I do appreciate that when emergencies come in that this estimated time will change but at least some communication is better than the way it is at the moment and would relieve some of the frustration felt by patients in waiting rooms.

Also facilities in the ED could be improved. After the shop / coffee bar closes in the evening there are just 2 vending machines and one for hot drinks and one for cold. The nearest vending machine for snacks in beside dining room and patients are afraid to go there in case they miss their name being called.

I realize the system is not working but something must be done to make the patients more comfortable and also relieve some of the work pressure for the receptionists, nurses and doctors.

I personally felt that after my 22 Hour visit, sitting on uncomfortable chairs, no food etc I was feeling a lot worse that when I was admitted.

I feel I must speak out for all involved in my experience in ED Department. The vulnerable patients and the hard working staff working under horrific circumstances.

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Responses

Response from Jill Robinson, Admin Support , Executive Directorate of Nursing Midwifery, AHP’s and Functional Support Services, Southern Health and Social Care Trust last month
We have made a change
Jill Robinson
Admin Support , Executive Directorate of Nursing Midwifery, AHP’s and Functional Support Services,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 15/09/2025 at 12:42
Published on Care Opinion at 12:42

Hello CAH63

I am so sorry that you were unable to use the vending machine during your recent visit to ED.

Unfortunately the machine was out of order due to a mechanical fault that couldn't be repaired at the time. However, we're pleased to inform you that we have installed another vending machine in the ED waiting area which offers a range of snacks and sandwiches.

We hope this will be more convenient for patients and visitors.

Thank you for taking the time to post about your experience.

Jill Robinson

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Response from Jill Green, Ward Manager, Emergency Department, Craigavon Area Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 3 weeks ago
We have made a change
Jill Green
Ward Manager, Emergency Department, Craigavon Area Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 22/09/2025 at 10:10
Published on Care Opinion at 10:10

Good morning CAH63,

Thank you for taking the time to highlight your concerns in relation to your experience in ED. I would like to apologise that you have had a negative experience and also for the delay in my response.

I am really sorry that you had to endure such a long waiting time. Unfortunately our ED is consistently overcrowded and there are a large number of patients waiting on a bed in the inpatient wards. This leaves us with little capacity for cubicles to see new patients. In order to ensure our patients are observed in the waiting room we implemented the waiting room nurse. This is the purpose of being called back in for observations and any analgesia that is needed. The nurses are able to give a rough estimate of a waiting time, and the purpose of being brought back in for observations every few hours whilst you are waiting is also so that the nurse can provide an update to each patient. I will add this to the nursing safety brief to ensure they are doing this.

I am aware that there are gaps in communication for those patients in the waiting room, and I acknowledge that this can be a frustrating and anxious time for people when they are not aware of the waiting time or what the next steps in their journey might be. I would like to assure you that I am in the process of planning a change that will hopefully resolve these issues. I have a meeting arranged with the communications team to implement a live system that will display the average waiting time on the screen in the waiting area. I also plan to display a visual that provides information on the ED patient pathway, this will provide lots of information on what happens at each step of the patients journey in the department.

You have mentioned about the facilities in ED. As you can see on the response above, this is something we have been working on. A new vending machine has been installed that contains sandwiches and snacks. Recently we have also brought in a night time trolley for water and biscuits. This is put in to the waiting room and replenished twice a night.

We hope that making these changes will improve the experience that patients have when waiting in the ED.

I want to thank you again for highlighting your concerns, we take all feedback seriously and aim to make any possible changes in response.

Best wishes

Sister Green.

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