ALMOST 38,000 A&E patients faced delays of more than 12 hours to be either treated, admitted to a a hospital bed or sent home during the pandemic year.
New statistics published by the Department of Health on emergency care waiting times also reveal the massive spike in lengthy delays across Northern Ireland hospitals over the past five years.
Craigavon Area Hospital fared worst for so-called '12 hour waiting time breaches', with numbers rocketing from 621 in 2016/17 to 7,638 for 2020/21.
Overall, the number of patients waiting longer than 12 hours in A&E over the five-year period "increased markedly" from 6,494 to 37,884.
While emergency departments across the north have experienced a surge in attendances over the summer months - resulting in trolley waits up to two days in some cases - the latest department figures only go up to March.
Between March 2020, when Covid-19 restrictions began, and March this year, there was a "notable" drop in numbers and that 60 per cent of people were treated and discharged or admitted to hospital within four hours of their arrival.
The department report noted that fewer patients waited longer than 12 hours in 2020/21 (37,884) compared with 2019/20 (45,401) - with the exception of Antrim Area Hospital which experienced severe problems during the winter Covid surge.
The ministerial targets for emergency care waiting times during 2020/21 stated that by "March 2021, at least 80 per cent of patients to have commenced treatment, following triage, within 2 hours."
Covid pressures and chronic staffing problems among the GP workforce have had a knock-on impact on A&E attendances.
