Emergency Care Waiting Time Statistics (January – March 2017)

The Department of Health (DoH) today published statistics on the time spent in emergency care departments (ED) throughout Northern Ireland during the months of January, February and March 2017.

The statistical bulletin presents information on all new and unplanned review attendances during January, February and March 2017. It details information on the time spent in ED’s during each of these months including; the monthly performance against the DoH emergency care waiting times target for ED’s and the time waited for key milestones during a patient’s journey through ED, whilst they are being cared for in an ED, including the time to triage and time to start of treatment.

This information release is published on the Departmental website.  

Key Points

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

Attendances at Emergency Care Departments:

Attendances:

• During March 2017, there were 68,418 attendances at ED’s, 1,823 (2.7%) more than in March 2016 (66,595).
• Of the 68,418 ED attendances during March 2017, 55,524 (81.2%) had attended a Type 1 ED, 5,662 (8.3%) attended a Type 2 ED and 7,232 (10.6%) attended a Type 3 ED.
• Between March 2016 and March 2017, attendances increased at Type 1 (472, 0.9%), Type 2 (405, 7.7%) and Type 3 (946, 15.0%) ED’s.

Left before Treatment Complete:

• During March 2017, 3.2% of the 68,418 attendances at ED’s left the ED before their treatment had been completed.

Unplanned Re-Attendances within seven Days:

• During March 2017, 3.3% of the 68,418 attendances at ED’s were unplanned review attendances who had returned to the ED within seven days of their original attendance for the same condition.

Referrals by GP:

• Over one in six (17.2%) attendances at ED’s in March 2017 had been referred by a GP, more than March 2016 (16.7%).

Time Spent in Emergency Care Departments:

Performance against Targets

• Over two thirds (70.2%) of patients attending a Type 1 department in March 2017 were treated and discharged, or admitted within four hours of their arrival, 1.6 percentage points higher than March 2016 (68.6%).
• Almost nine in ten (87.9%) patients attending a Type 2 department in March 2017 were treated and discharged, or admitted within four hours of their arrival, 4.4 percentage points less than March 2016 (92.3%).
• All patients attending a Type 3 department were treated and discharged, or admitted within four hours of their arrival.
• Between March 2016 and March 2017, the number of attendances waiting longer than 12 hours improved from 667 to 585, accounting for 0.9% of all attendances in March 2017.
• Over four in five (82.3%) patients attending ED’s in March 2017 commenced their treatment within two hours of being triaged, higher than March 2016 (79.5%).

Time to Triage:

• The median waiting time from arrival at an ED to triage (initial assessment) by a medical professional was eight minutes during March 2017, with 95% of patients having their care needs assessed for the first time by a medical professional within 31 minutes of arrival.

Time to Start of Treatment:

• During March 2017, the median waiting time from triage to the start of treatment by a medical professional was 41 minutes, with 95% of patients receiving treatment within 3 hours 24 minutes of them having their care needs assessed for the first time.

Total Time in Emergency Care Department:

• The median time spent in a Type 1 ED by patients who were discharged home (not admitted) was 2 hours 27 minutes in March 2017, four minutes less than the time spent in an ED during the same month last year (2 hours 31 minutes).
• The median time spent in a Type 1 ED for patients admitted to hospital was 5 hours 22 minutes in March 2017, 12 minutes less than the same month last year (5 hours 34 minutes).
• During March 2017, the Royal Victoria reported the longest median time spent in an ED (6 hours 45 minutes) from arrival to admission to hospital, whilst South West Acute reported the shortest median time of 3 hours 28 minutes.

Notes to editors: 

1. This statistical bulletin reports the total time spent in an ED from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge for all new and unplanned review attendances at emergency care departments across NI. The figures do not include planned review attendances.

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

3. The current Ministerial targets for emergency care waiting times in 2016/17 state that:

‘From April 2016, 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.’

‘By March 2017, at least 80% of patients to have commenced treatment, following triage, within two hours.’

4. Information which presents a summary of the emergency care clinical quality indicators for Northern Ireland has also been included in this release. This information is not National Statistics but has been included to provide a more comprehensive and balanced view of the care delivered by ED’s and reflects the experience of patients and the timeliness of the care they receive.

5. 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 are included in the ‘Emergency Care Waiting Time Statistics – Additional Guidance’ booklet. Link Below:

Departmental website

6. 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.

7. Figures incorporate all returns and amendments received from HSC Trusts up to 21 April 2017.

Further information on Emergency Care Statistics is available from:

Hospital Information Branch
Department of Health
Annexe 2, Castle Buildings
Stormont,
BT4 3SQ

Email: statistics@health-ni.gov.uk

Internet: DoH statistics and research

8. Media queries to DoH Information Office on 028 9052 0579, or out of hours contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07623 974383 and your call will be immediately returned.

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