![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/antrim-area-hospital-hospital-unsafe-on-saturday-night/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/89586470_antrimarea.jpg&description=Image source, Getty/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYA major incident was declared in the Northern Health Trust at the weekend because the situation was "unsafe," the chief executive of the trust has said.A 'major incident' means there are too many patients for staff to deal with safely. The decision was taken after the emergency department reached capacity. "At the time we called the incident there were 131 patients and about 66 had a decision to admit and no bed available," Ms Welsh told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme."It's not just a numbers game but is the about the acuity of the patients and how sick they are," she said."Our resuscitation unit was over over full," she added."We simply could not cope. It was safest thing to do to close the door and convey people to next nearest ED [emergency department] to make sure they begin the urgent treatment they need."It was the right call to say it was unsafe - it was at the time."A social-media post from the hospital said on Sunday the hospital was still under "extreme pressure".Ms Welsh said the situation on Monday morning with patients would have been "unthinkable" five years ago but now it is "normal business - and not acceptable"."The situation is pressured and not just in Antrim but across many of Northern Ireland's emergency departments," she said. She said new beds were coming in February.Image caption, Rita Devlin from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) told the programme she had never heard a hospital tell patients not to come under any circumstancesMs Welsh said last month Antrim Area hospital had its highest ever number of ever attendances.She added that the Northern Trust was NI's largest health trust area geographically and had the highest number of people over 75, two things that drive hospital admission.Rita Devlin from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) told Good Morning Ulster her members were at maximum capacity.She said the threshold for a major incident was when when a hospital could no longer cope with the){kind=link}
A major incident was declared in the Northern Health Trust at the weekend because the situation was “unsafe,” the chief executive of the trust has said.
Jennifer Welsh was speaking after people were told not to come to Antrim Area Hospital on Saturday night “in any circumstances”.
A ‘major incident’ means there are too many patients for staff to deal with safely.
The decision was taken after the emergency department reached capacity.
“At the time we called the incident there were 131 patients and about 66 had a decision to admit and no bed available,” Ms Welsh told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.