The following update provides a regional overview of the current pressures and challenges across the HSC System in Northern Ireland.
Patients Declared Medically Optimised for Discharge with Complex Discharge Needs – Snapshot position as at 10.30 am
Date: 8 May 2026
| BHSCT | 144 |
| NHSCT | 157 |
| SET | 91 |
| SHSCT | 68 |
| WHSCT | 160 |
| REGIONAL TOTAL | 620 |
Number of beds occupied in addition to funded capacity by HSC Trust
| Date | Belfast | Northern | South-Eastern | Southern | Western | Grand Total |
| 08/05/2026 | 32 | 48 | 72 | 19 | 53 | 224 |
Table above shows the number of beds occupied in additional to funded bed capacity.
An escalation bed is a bed in addition to the funded allocated complement that is opened on a short term temporary basis to cope with demand or increased pressures.
Number of Patients in Emergency Departments
The information is taken from a live, operational dashboard and only provides a snapshot of Emergency Departments at a particular point in time. Therefore, as the situation in Emergency Departments is very dynamic, the information cannot and should not be taken as the definitive position.
Emergency Departments – Snapshot Position at 12pm
Date: 8 May 2026
| Trust | Hospital | Total Waiting in Emergency Department | Over 12 hours | Number of Patients Waiting for Admission to a Hospital Bed (DTA) | ED Attendances previous 24hrs (midnight to midnight) |
| Belfast | MATER | 50 | 13 | 10 | 113 |
| Belfast | RVH | 107 | 43 | 17 | 206 |
| Belfast | Belfast Total | 157 | 56 | 27 | 319 |
| Northern | ANTRIM | 133 | 56 | 42 | 249 |
| Northern | CAUSEWAY | 66 | 19 | 19 | 133 |
| Northern | Northern Total | 199 | 75 | 61 | 382 |
| South Eastern | ULSTER | 200 | 51 | 43 | 176 |
| South Eastern | South East Total | 200 | 51 | 43 | 176 |
| Southern | CRAIGAVON | 98 | 40 | 32 | 194 |
| Southern | DAISY HILL | 67 | 23 | 14 | 169 |
| Southern | Southern Total | 165 | 63 | 46 | 363 |
| Western | ALTNAGELVIN | 78 | 37 | 34 | 150 |
| Western | SWAH | 46 | 19 | 19 | 119 |
| Western | Western Total | 124 | 56 | 53 | 269 |
| Regional Position | Regional Total | 845 | 301 | 230 | 1509 |
The information is not updated on weekends or Bank Holidays.
- Information provided relates to Type 1 sites only. Type 1 departments are defined as those with a consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, providing both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services on a round the clock basis.
- In Emergency Departments, the sickest and most critically injured patients will be prioritised. People with less serious conditions unfortunately may have to wait longer to be seen, treated, and either discharged or admitted to a hospital bed. Please consider other services, including Urgent Care Centres (which are now running in RVH in Belfast and Downe Hospitals), Minor Injury Units, GP Out of Hours, or your own GP. Pharmacists now also have additional services in place and can also offer advice and treatment for common conditions and refer patients to other healthcare professionals as appropriate.
- These figures do not include Urgent Care & Phone First attendances.
ED Pressures – Weekly Indicators
Friday 24th April – Thursday 30th April 2026
| Trust | Hospital | ED Attendances | Number of Waits > 12hrs | % of Waits <4 hrs |
| Belfast | MATER | 786 | 100 | 35% |
| Belfast | RVH | 1,646 | 393 | 16% |
| Belfast | RBHSC | 1,013 | 1 | 62% |
| Belfast | Belfast Total | 3,445 | 494 | 34% |
| Northern | ANTRIM | 1,901 | 486 | 30% |
| Northern | CAUSEWAY | 1,108 | 147 | 53% |
| Northern | Northern Total | 3,009 | 633 | 39% |
| South Eastern | ULSTER | 1,639 | 518 | 15% |
| South Eastern | LAGAN VALLEY | 459 | 0 | 70% |
| South Eastern | DOWNE | 385 | 0 | 98% |
| South Eastern | South East Total | 2,483 | 518 | 38% |
| Southern | CRAIGAVON | 1,682 | 465 | 29% |
| Southern | DAISY HILL | 1,256 | 134 | 44% |
| Southern | Southern Total | 2,938 | 599 | 35% |
| Western | ALTNAGELVIN | 1,200 | 293 | 25% |
| Western | SWAH | 861 | 178 | 42% |
| Western | Western Total | 2,061 | 471 | 32% |
| Regional Position | Regional Total | 13,936 | 2,715 | 36% |
| PLEASE NOTE:
There have been changes to delay codes and performance monitoring targets over recent years so care must be taken when interpreting trends. There are additional caveats regarding availability of data due to encompass implementation. If any advice is required in terms of interpretation please contact SPPG Information at: SPPGInformation@hscni.net ED attendances are New & Unplanned only, and no UCC, Phone First or MIU attendances are included Southern and Western Trust data is sourced from eEMS & Sypmhony universes within Business Objects Belfast, Northern and South Eastern data is sourced from EPIC, though please note EPIC data currently subject to ongoing validation with Trusts |