Meltdown
Thursday, 28 January 2010
PENNY-pinching by the Northern Trust has conspired to undermine the tireless efforts of staff who are working around the clock to keep the ailing A&E Department on life support, it has been claimed.
An employee has broken ranks this week to blow the whistle on the crippling budget cuts which have created the worst ever crisis at the heart of Casualty services.
And the insider warned that the prognosis was grim if urgent action was not taken to treat the underlying malaise at one of the busiest Accident and Emergency Units in the province.
“It's no exaggeration to say that lives are being put at risk because of the demands being put on staff," said the source.
“I'm ashamed at what sometimes passes for service at Antrim A&E. It's a disgrace. The place is just being overrun."
Last week Trust Medical Director Peter Flanagan told the Guardian that the unit in Antrim now deals with 70,000 patients each year - a full 15,000 more than the Royal. The startling admission confirms that the Area Hospital is treating thousands more people than it was originally designed to, a fact underlined recently when, in one frenetic 24-hour spell, Antrim saw 340 patients come through the doors.
The knock-on effect for many is long waits for the walking wounded and the prospect of spending 'hours if not days' on trolleys for the more seriously ill while a bed is found.
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