HEALTH chiefs last night warned of a "serious mismatch" between demand for care and the capacity to deliver it amid intensifying pressures on hospitals and the care system.
The stark warning from the Department of Health came as it emerged a woman in her 70s died on a trolley at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Belfast on Friday night while waiting to be admitted.
On Saturday Antrim Area Hospital declared a major incident as it closed its doors to new admissions because conditions had become "unsafe".
On Sunday the RVH also appealed on social media for nurses to come forward to help and urged anyone who could take patients, fit for discharge, home to help alleviate bed blocking.
Yesterday the Ulster Hospital said it was experiencing extreme pressures while Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry was also facing severe difficulties at its A&E department.
It has emerged that a woman in her late 70s died on a trolley while waiting to be admitted to the RVH on Friday.
It is believed she had been taken from a care home for treatment and was in the waiting area for some hours before she was found unresponsive by staff.
The woman's family was then informed by telephone.
The death occurred as the Belfast trust reported on Sunday its emergency departments had faced an "exceptionally busy" period.
A spokesperson for the Belfast trust offered "condolences to this patient’s family", last night adding: "Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time."
The Department of Health meanwhile told of its 'deep concerns' about the growing crisis.
"The fundamental reality is that we have a serious mismatch between demand for care and the capacity of the system to provide it. Neighbouring jurisdictions are facing similar challenges.
"We need everyone across society to support our health service in every way they can," it said in a statement.
"Hospitals do not have unlimited capacity and it is imperative that when patients have been deemed medically fit they leave the hospital setting.
"Every delayed discharge means a bed is being withheld from a very sick person waiting in an emergency department or in an ambulance outside a hospital, and further impacts on the system’s ability to respond to need in the community."
Earlier the medical director of of the Belfast trust called on the public to help "exhausted" emergency staff by freeing up bed spaces.
Dr Chris Hagan estimated that around 160 "medically fit" patients were currently in Belfast hospital beds that cannot be discharged.
But he said with the Royal serving as the regional unit for multiple specialities, including trauma, stroke and the air ambulance, closing the emergency department in the same way as Antrim was simply not an option.
