Hospital declares ‘potential major incident’ due to pressures on Emergency Department

A “potential major incident” was declared due to severe pressures in the Emergency Department at a Northern Ireland hospital. The move was taken on Tuesday at Antrim Area Hospital after 62 people needed to be admitted to beds that were not available. A spokesman for the Northern Trust said the hospital had “never seen pressures just quite as intense as this”. He later said the potential major incident alert had been stood down, although pressures at the hospital remain high. It is one step away from a full major incident, which would involve the hospital being unable to take any further patients and effectively shutting its doors.