Debate contribution: Ambulance Waiting Times

Debate contribution by Mrs Diane Dodds on 13 January 2025.

MLA

Mrs Diane Dodds

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

13 January 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Ambulance Waiting Times

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4738564

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Alliance Party Members who tabled the motion. The debate is incredibly important and useful. In addressing the motion, we need to acknowledge and be thankful for the absolutely supreme efforts of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service in trying to keep going in the most difficult of circumstances. Unfortunately, however, a lot of what we are experiencing today is not new. It is repeated over and over again. At this particular time, the situation is dressed up as winter pressures, but, as I said at the Health Committee meeting last week, that means that we are just chugging along and trying to get through this period, but we will soon return to the same old issues. That is demonstrated in some of the answers to questions for written answer that I have received over the past year. Last May, the former Health Minister responded:

"Reducing ambulance handover delays outside emergency departments has been a key priority".

He described trusts as being required to develop plans with:

"specific actions to improve ambulance handover times, including the introduction of additional alternative care pathways as alternatives to conveying patients to the Emergency Department."

He indicated that funding had been allocated to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service for additional hospital ambulance liaison officers at hospital sites. As part of the winter planning arrangements, he indicated that ambulance handover information would be made available to the public fortnightly via the departmental website. Minister, I hunted on the website — I accept entirely that I may not have found all the information — but cannot not find the figures for that; they are not easily accessible on the Department's website. I am interested to hear your comments on the matter. Bringing transparency to the issue is really important.

I am also interested in the number of ambulance hours that were lost over the Christmas and new year period as a result of staff being delayed at emergency departments. I read one report that said that the northern region's target of having 12 ambulances available was met only once during the eight-month period from January to August last year, and the southern division's target of having 10 ambulances was met only three times. We know that demand has been increasing year on year, but the number of staffed ambulances has not risen. That results in a failure to keep pace with increased calls and rising demand and places additional pressure on staff, who have become overstretched and are struggling. They have few rest periods and cannot finish their shifts on time. Therefore, the reference to workforce planning in the motion is really important, because, unless we get ahead with that, we will continue to have the same problem over and over again. Over recent days, we have heard of patients not being able to be released from ambulances and of crews being marooned and having to sit with patients, sometimes in very cold conditions. Minister, I know that you were at Craigavon hospital last Thursday. I was there a couple of hours before you. They said that it was cold, uncomfortable and difficult for patients. That leads to poor outcomes in the long term. We know that the answer to that is patient flow, and it is really important that we get to grips with that. Last week, at the Health Committee, I indicated that I had asked these questions. In March last year, 628 patients who were medically fit to leave hospital were unable to do so. In the summer, 512 who were fit to leave hospital were unable to do so. Dr Mark Taylor said that about 500 were unable to leave hospital at the weekend. Unless we get to grips with social care, we will continue to have the problems that we currently have in hospitals. It is not new: it is happening over and over again. We really need to get to grips with that element of the problem. If we can increase patient flow, we will ensure that our patients are treated in EDs, not in corridors and on trolleys, —

— but with some sort of dignity.

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

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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