Royal Victoria Hospital: Major incident at Belfast A&E

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Via the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-25664076

A major incident was declared at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital on Wednesday due to a large backlog of patients at the A&E department.

The hospital said additional staff had to be called in and extra beds opened to relieve pressure on the unit.

At one stage, 42 people were waiting on trolleys and staff described the situation as "horrendous".

The Belfast Trust said the situation was brought under control just before midnight.

At about 20:00 GMT, trolleys from the emergency department were backed up into the x-ray area.

As a result, some A&E patients were placed in the recovery area and fracture clinic. The day procedure unit was also re-opened.

Staff at the hospital told the BBC that if a major trauma had been brought into the hospital on Wednesday night, there was neither space nor staff to cope with it.

More at link.