The statistical bulletin presents information on all new and unplanned review attendances during January, February and March 2023. It details information on the time spent in EDs during each of these months including; the monthly performance against the DoH emergency care waiting times target for EDs and the time waited for key milestones during a patient's journey through ED, whilst they are being cared for in an ED, including the time to triage and time to start of treatment.

Please note that this statistical release includes information on two new urgent care services (i) PhoneFirst and (ii) Urgent Care Centres, which were introduced in late 2020, to assess patients' needs before arrival at an ED, and ensure they receive the right care, at the right time, and in the right place, outside ED if appropriate. These new services may in part help explain the reduction in the number of patients attending EDs.

This information release is published on the Emergency Care Waiting Times Website.

Key Points

Attendances at Emergency Care Departments:

Urgent and Emergency Care Attendances:

• In March 2023, 15,020 calls / attendances were received by PhoneFirst and Urgent Care Centre services, from patients who may previously have attended an ED. A total of 2,266 (15.1%) resulted in an attendance at an ED, whilst 12,754 patients did not go on to attend an ED.
• During March 2023, 65,975 patients in total attended an ED, and 12,754 attended PhoneFirst / Urgent Care Centre services without further referral to an ED; a total of 78,729 patients attending all urgent and emergency care services.

Emergency Care Attendances:

• During March 2023, there were 65,975 attendances at EDs in Northern Ireland, 2,836 (4.5%) more than in March 2022 (63,139).
• Of the 65,975 ED attendances during March 2023, 57,965 (87.9%) had attended a Type 1 ED, 2,838 (4.3%) attended a Type 2 ED and 5,172 (7.8%) attended a Type 3 ED.
• Between March 2022 and March 2023, attendances increased at Type 1 EDs (2,826, 5.1%) and Type 3 EDs (61, 1.2%), and decreased at Type 2 EDs (51, 1.8%).
• There were 181,332 attendances at EDs during the quarter ending 31 March 2023, 5.9% (10,167) more than during the same quarter in 2022 (171,165).

Left before Treatment Complete:

• During March 2023, 7.2% of all ED attendances left before their treatment was complete, compared with 6.5% in March 2022.

Unplanned Re-Attendances within 7 Days:

• During March 2023, 3.6% of the 65,975 ED attendances were unplanned review attendances who had returned to the same ED within 7 days of their original attendance for the same condition.

Referrals by GP:

• During March 2023, almost one in five (19.5%) attendances at EDs had been referred by a GP, compared with 16.6% in March 2022.

Time Spent in Emergency Care Departments:

Performance against Targets

• Over two fifths (40.5%) of attendances at Type 1 EDs in March 2023 spent less than 4 hours in ED, compared with 78.4% at Type 2 EDs and 99.2% at Type 3 EDs.
• During the quarter ending 31 March 2023, almost half (48.6%) of patients spent less than 4 hours at an ED, compared to 51.6% during the same quarter in 2022.
• Over three quarters (78.4%) of patients attending a Type 2 ED in March 2023 were treated and discharged, or admitted within 4 hours of their arrival, compared with 80.4% in March 2022.
• Almost all (99.2%) of patients attending a Type 3 ED were treated and discharged, or admitted within 4 hours of their arrival, compared with 99.3% in March 2022.
• Between March 2022 and March 2023, the number waiting over 12 hours increased from 8,195 to 10,243, accounting for 15.5% of attendances in March 2023.