Kieran McCarthy MLA said: “I am very concerned by this unacceptable delay in admitting patients to the Accident and Emergency Department at the Ulster Hospital. Ambulances are not meant to be tied up at the front door of a hospital, they should be responding to emergency calls. Lives are going to be put at risk if this problem is not resolved.
“The Health and Social Care Board should urgently look into what happened on Monday night and ensure that the resources are put in place so that it is not repeated.
“There has been a major restructuring of accident and emergency services across the Belfast area. However, with incidents like this it is clear that more work needs to be done to ensure that waiting times are not affected.”
ENDS