Emergency care waiting time statistics April - June 2015

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) today published statistics on the time spent waiting in emergency care departments within Northern Ireland during the months of April, May and June 2015.

The statistical bulletin presents information on all new and unplanned review attendances during the months of April, May and June 2015. It also details the monthly performance against the DHSSPS Ministerial target for emergency waiting times at emergency care departments.

Key points

The key findings presented in the statistical bulletin are listed below:

Latest Position (June 2015):

• during June 2015, 74.4% of attendances at Type 1 emergency care departments were treated and discharged, or admitted within 4 hours of their arrival, compared with 90.4% at Type 2 departments, and 99.9% at Type 3 departments (Table 2)
• in June 2015, 236 (0.4%) of the 63,198 attendances at emergency care departments in Northern Ireland waited longer than 12 hours to be either treated and discharged home, or admitted (Table 2)

Position during last 3 months (April - June 2015):

Between April and June 2015:

• the percentage of patients attending Type 1 emergency care departments that were treated and discharged home, or admitted within 4 hours increased, from 70.1% to 74.4% (Figure 1, Table 2)
• in Type 2 emergency care departments, the percentage of patients attending that were either treated and discharged home, or admitted within 4 hours decreased slightly, from 90.5% to 90.4% (Figure 1, Table 2)
• the percentage of patients attending Type 3 emergency care departments treated and discharged home, or admitted within 4 hours continued to be almost 100.0% (Figure 1, Table 2)
• the number of patients waiting longer than 12 hours almost halved (220, 48.2%) from 456 to 236, with Antrim Area reporting the largest improvement in performance, from 78 to 5 (Table 2 & Table 3)
• between April and June 2015, monthly attendances at all emergency care departments increased by 2,426 (4.0%), from 60,772 to 63,198. During this period, attendances increased by 1,545 (3.0%) at Type 1 departments, 108 (3.1%) at Type 2 departments and 773 (12.2%) at Type 3 departments (Table 2)

Position compared to same month last year (June 2014 and June 2015):

Between June 2014 and June 2015:

• the percentage of patients attending Type 1 departments who were treated and discharged home, or admitted within 4 hours has decreased by 0.7 percentage points, from 75.1% to 74.4% (Figure 4, Table 4)
• the percentage of patients attending Type 2 departments who were treated and discharged home, or admitted within 4 hours has increased by 3.0 percentage points, from 87.4% to 90.4% (Figure 7, Table 6)
• the percentage of patients attending Type 3 departments who were treated and discharged home, or admitted within 4 hours continued to be almost 100.0% (Table 8)
• the number of patients waiting longer than 12 hours decreased from 293 to 236, with the Royal Victoria reporting the most notable improvement in performance, from 189 to 74 (Table 9)
• between June 2014 and June 2015, monthly attendances at emergency care departments increased by 1,016 (1.6%) from 62,182 to 63,198. During this period attendances increased at Type 1 (1,956, 3.9%) and Type 2 (146, 4.3%) departments, but decreased at Type 3 (1,086, 13.3%) departments (Figure 10, Table 9)

Emergency care waiting times statistics

Notes to editors: 

1. Information presented in this statistical bulletin report the total time spent in an emergency care department from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge for all new and unplanned review attendances at emergency care departments across Northern Ireland. The figures do not include planned review attendances.

2. Time is measured from when a patient arrives at the emergency care department (time of arrival is recorded at registration or triage whichever is earlier (clock starts)) until the patient departs the emergency care department (time of departure is defined as when the patient's clinical care episode is completed within the emergency care department (clock stops)).

3. Readers are advised to be cautious when making direct comparisons between Northern Ireland and other UK Jurisdictions as waiting times may not be measured in a comparable manner. It should also be noted that the way in which emergency care services are delivered differs between UK jurisdictions. This means that the number and types of patients included in the figures may differ between countries. In particular, the 12-hour waiting time information published by England and Northern Ireland is not equivalent and should not be compared. Further information on comparability between Northern Ireland and other UK Jurisdictions is detailed in Appendix 3 (page 47) of this statistical bulletin.

4. There are three separate categories of emergency care facility included in this publication:

• Type 1 Department - A consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, providing both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services 24 hours a day.
• Type 2 Department - A consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, but which does not provide both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services and/or has time-limited opening hours.
• Type 3 Department - A minor injury unit with designated accommodation for the reception of patients with a minor injury and/or illness. It may be a doctor or nurse-led. A defining characteristic of this service is that it treats at least minor injuries and/or illnesses and can be routinely accessed without an appointment.

5. Readers are should also note the recent change in the way waiting time information is presented for the Royal Victoria emergency care department, as information for the Royal Victoria emergency care department and the Royal Victoria (ENT & RAES) service is now reported separately.

6. Figures incorporate all returns and amendments received from HSC Trusts up to 20 July 2015.

7. The current Ministerial target for emergency care waiting times in 2015/16 states that: “95% of patients attending any Type 1, 2 or 3 Emergency Care Department are either treated and discharged home, or admitted, within four hours of their arrival in the department; and no patient attending any Emergency Care Department should wait longer than 12 hours.”

• Contact details for Hospital Information Branch

8. Media enquiries about this press release to DHSSPS Press Office on 9052 0575, or out of hours contact to Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.

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