A Co Down man waited in an ambulance for nine hours following a head injury due to A&E pressures at the Ulster Hospital.
James McCausland suffered a head injury after falling over near the pharmacy in Donaghadee at around 6pm on Monday, September 26, and required an ambulance to take him to hospital after becoming disoriented.
At first there were some delays in the ambulance being sent to him, but it eventually collected him from his home at 9pm.
He arrived at the Ulster Hospital emergency department at 10pm, but it would be hours before he was able to leave the ambulance and be triaged, with this not taking place until 7.30am on Tuesday morning.
Since then, he has been waiting in the emergency department to be seen by doctors and told his daughter Amy Speers, that the A&E was 'chock-a-block' with patients who seemed to be constantly coming into the department.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Amy said: "The A&E at the Ulster Hospital is very busy at the best of times, but I have never heard of it being as bad as it is today.
"On Monday evening my dad suffered a head injury following a fall in Donaghadee and needed to get an ambulance to hospital. At first there were none available for him, but after a three hour wait he was taken to the Ulster Hospital.
"He thought that once he was there things shouldn't take too much longer, but he ended up sitting inside the ambulance waiting to be admitted from 10pm on Monday until 7.30am on Tuesday morning when he was eventually brought in and triaged.
"Since then, he has been waiting in the main waiting room to be seen by a doctor, but the place is so busy we don't know how long that will take. The place is completely chock-a-block with patients."
The South Eastern Health and Social Care said that on Tuesday, September 27, at 4pm, there were currently 130 people in the A&E and a further 52 waiting to be admitted.
It said that it was experiencing "significant pressures and waits" for inpatients beds and that when there are no beds available on a ward it can only admit a new patient once another one leaves.
A spokesperson said: "“The South Eastern HSC Trust cannot comment on individual cases.
"The Ulster Hospital Emergency Department is experiencing significant pressures and waits for inpatient beds.
"There are currently 130 people in the Emergency Department, with 52 patients waiting to be admitted into hospital.
"The team working in the Emergency Department triage all patients and prioritise those based on their clinical need. This means the most unwell are treated first.
"When there are no beds available in the hospital, we can only admit a patient onto a ward when a another patient leaves.
"At the moment there are 95 patients ready to leave hospital, after being declared fit by our medical teams.
"To help alleviate pressures within our Emergency Department, we would appeal for patients to leave hospital when they are deemed medically fit.
"If patients are deemed medically fit to go home and are waiting on a care home placement, Trust staff will allocate a place that is suitable. This may not necessarily be their first choice. However staff will work closely with patients to ensure their first choice placement is facilitated at a later date. “
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