An elderly patient died after her condition worsened while she was waiting in an ambulance outside a busy hospital, triggering an internal review.
The unidentified woman died in the emergency department at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald on Monday evening.
Patients are waiting for “longer than we would like” for admission due to sustained national pressures, the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust said.
A spokesman said: “The patient’s condition deteriorated while she was being treated in an ambulance, where she was being cared for by both ambulance staff and medical staff from the hospital.
The emergency department had been under extreme pressure all day, as it has been for many months
“Our medical and nursing staff did everything possible to resuscitate the patient in the emergency department.”
The spokesman added: “The emergency department had been under extreme pressure all day, as it has been for many months.
“Sustained pressures are being experienced in all of the emergency departments across Northern Ireland, resulting in patients having to wait longer than we would like for admission to hospital.
“The South Eastern Trust has been in contact with the lady’s family. We would like express our deepest condolences to them.
“The trust is carrying out a review.”
SDLP health spokesperson Colin McGrath said: “This woman’s death shows just how bad things have become.
“We are no longer able to provide the bare minimum standards of care expected and it is having a serious impact on both patients and staff.
“This death in such tragic circumstances is another reminder of the need to put politics to one side and focus on ways that we can address the crisis in our health service and improve people’s lives on a daily basis.
“Nobody’s life should end in these circumstances. We must do everything in our power to ensure that this never happens again.”
The pressure on hospitals in Northern Ireland was highlighted last week when a “potential major incident” was declared at Antrim Area Hospital.
At one point, 62 people needed to be admitted to beds that were not available in wards.
A “potential major incident” is one step away from a full major incident, which would have involved the hospital being unable to take any further patients and effectively shutting its doors.
