Patients experiencing 10-hour waits at hospital emergency

Patients requiring treatment at Mater Dei Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department are having to wait between seven and 10 hours before being transferred to the wards.

This is blocking up space at emergency with workers telling sister newspaper Illum that the situation at the A&E was “grave”.

This is also the case with patients considered to have a serious but not life-threatening condition, such as chest pains. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these lengthy waiting times were sometimes experienced by those with minor medical issues.

Sources at A&E who spoke to Illum said the number of people seeking treatment at A&E has soared after a sharp drop experienced last year when many stayed away from hospital out of fear.

However, they also explained that COVID-19 testing protocols that require the patient to wait for the result in the emergency department has backfired since these are blocking cubicles at a time when the number of people seeking treatment at A&E has increased.

A General Workers’ Union representative of A&E workers described the situation as “very grave”. “We are leaving our patients waiting for seven or 10 hours, when they have chest pains or a light stroke because the space is taken up by someone waiting for the COVID-19 test result,” the representative said.