Member's statement: Altnagelvin Area Hospital: Emergency Department

Member's statement by Mr Paul Boggs on 20 October 2026.

MLA: Mr Paul Boggs
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 20 October 2026
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Altnagelvin Area Hospital: Emergency Department
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5798358

Text

I quote:
"My dad has been here for days."
"I and the people I work with are burnt out."
"The situation has never been worse."
The situation facing staff and patients alike at Altnagelvin A&E has been raised repeatedly in the Chamber, but we cannot overemphasise just how much we need to see action. Each week without fail and almost each day, I am contacted by patients or, more often than not, their families, who do not know where else to turn but to speak to their local elected representative. I know that all Members of the Assembly who cover the Western Trust area have the same story to tell, and nearly every message includes a line that I know to be true: "I know that the staff are doing their best". That could not be any truer, and it is imperative when discussing the issues that we recognise the invaluable role and dedication of the staff, who are doing everything that they can to make patients comfortable and have them treated as soon as possible. In recent weeks, I have heard of very unwell patients in their 90s sitting waiting, some for days, to be treated. I have listened to their loved ones, at times in tears, because they feel helpless to the person whom they love. I know that situation because I too have experienced it with an elderly loved one, and it is not acceptable. I have listened to the staff who are running on empty, burned out and in need of urgent support. Last week, the Health Minister visited Altnagelvin to meet the staff and to see the current emergency department (ED). I am sure that he was left in absolutely no doubt that the facility is not fit for purpose. When a facility that is designed to treat 35,000 patients a year is treating somewhere in the region of 80,000 patients, little more argument is needed as to how important it is for a new ED to be made a reality as soon as possible. I welcome the Minister's comments that a new ED at Altnagelvin will be incredibly high on his Department's project list when the Budget becomes available. Each of us in the Chamber and people outside will know just how dire the financial situation is, but the focus on the project cannot be lost. Therefore, I make a direct plea to the British Secretary of State, who, at present, is in negotiations with the Executive: can you see just how much our public services need to be put on a sustainable footing? We need to have sufficient funding to be able to invest in and transform public services. It is not about getting anything over and above what we need; it is about being able to deliver the services that people deserve. The British Secretary of State talks about the Executive being financially irresponsible. I implore him to assess how irresponsible it is for him to leave the Executive in a position where they cannot fund vital public services such as this one. With one voice, all Members across the constituencies covered by the Western Trust must advocate for the ED to be upgraded as soon as possible, because people have waited long enough. Patients and their families have waited long enough.

550 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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