To ask the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to relieve the pressure on hospitals in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust area.

In the first instance, it is for individual Trusts to manage service pressures. If pressures become unmanageable within a Trust, there are escalation procedures in place which allow for regional intervention facilitated by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and the NI Ambulance Service. This involves, for example, the use of temporary ambulance diverts.

I recognise that hospitals and in particular EDs have been under significant and sustained pressure for a considerable period of time. To help with the management of these pressures, HSCB issued revised Unscheduled Care Escalation Guidance to the Trusts before Christmas.

The HSCB also facilitates daily compilation of Hospital Early Warning Scores (HEWS) data and hosts meetings three times per week with all Trusts to discuss system pressures. At times of heightened pressure, the HSCB facilitates an urgent regional Director level discussion– to ascertain if regional measures can be put in place to assist any Trust in difficulty.

Unfortunately, pressures on urgent and emergency care are not new. I am intending to publish soon for public consultation the findings from the Review of Urgent and Emergency Care. However, there is no quick fix to the pressures currently being felt in our Emergency Departments and wider hospital system. Indeed, we need sustained investment in our services to improve the situation.