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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Royal Victoria Hospital: Not all A&E death families told of delay factor | Royal Victoria Hospital: Not all A&E death families told of delay factor |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Not all families were told their relatives died partly because they were not treated quickly enough in the A&E department at NI's biggest hospital. | Not all families were told their relatives died partly because they were not treated quickly enough in the A&E department at NI's biggest hospital. |
| On Tuesday, a senior doctor confirmed delays were a factor in the deaths of as many as five patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast last year. | On Tuesday, a senior doctor confirmed delays were a factor in the deaths of as many as five patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast last year. |
| The Belfast Health Trust said some families did not want more information. | The Belfast Health Trust said some families did not want more information. |
| "However for those that do, we are going back to ensure that they are fully informed," a spokeswoman said. | "However for those that do, we are going back to ensure that they are fully informed," a spokeswoman said. |
| The details emerged on Tuesday when the trust's medical director, Dr Tony Stevens, told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show a shortage of doctors, and patient waiting times, had been significant factors in the deaths. | The details emerged on Tuesday when the trust's medical director, Dr Tony Stevens, told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show a shortage of doctors, and patient waiting times, had been significant factors in the deaths. |
| "These were very sick patients and they were very complex cases, so those patients may have succumbed or died anyway, this is a contributory factor," he said. | "These were very sick patients and they were very complex cases, so those patients may have succumbed or died anyway, this is a contributory factor," he said. |
| Meanwhile, a former health trust manager said pressures on accident and emergency units in Northern Ireland have been exacerbated by the wider problem of hospital bed shortages. | |
| Jim Stewart, who was sacked as chairman of the Northern Health Trust in December 2012 amid problems with its A&E provision, said his concerns had been ignored. | |
| "The 12-hour waits - they're not a symptom of a shortage of doctors in A&E, they're not a symptom of an A&E problem, they're a symptom of a whole hospital problem," he said. | |
| "What we have been doing over this last 10 years was reducing the number of beds throughout the hospitals." | |
| He added: "You can't keep stripping beds out, year after year, when people have to be admitted and making them wait on trolleys. | |
| "You have to staff your A&E department to meet the demands coming in the door." |