Stop the Cuts Campaign
PRESS RELEASE – 16^th March 2012

For immediate release

The Stop the Cuts Campaign (SCC) sends its condolences to the family of the elderly man who died alone and unattended in the A&E at the Royal Victoria Hospital, while waiting on being transferred to another unit.

The SCC takes no pleasure in the being proved correct when it previously highlighted that lives would be lost if the Belfast City Hospital A&E department was closed; which has resulted in the documented crisis of A&E services within the Royal Hospitals.

SCC organiser Pat Lawlor states “since the closure of the BCH, the Royal has seen the number of patients waiting for more than 4 hours rose by 12%.  Disgracefully it has been reported, people waiting more than 12 hours has risen from 31 in October to a staggering 170 in December, an increase of over 81%.”

The SCC wishes to send a message of support to the Royal A&E staff at this tragic time as the staff has been struggling to try and maintain a service on the brink of collapse.  While the full detail of how this elderly man died has yet to be revealed; the SCC believe the underlying central factor for this incident is the attacks on the health service by the Assembly through the reduction of A&E services and cuts in health in general.

Blame for this must lie solely with the Assembly Executive who are implementing £823 million of vicious cuts in jobs and services throughout the health care system, at a time we have seen the approval for an 11% increase in wages for MLA’s. Ironically Pat McCartan, chairman of the Belfast Trust, who voted to close the City A&E was on the independent review panel which handed the MLA’s a £5000 increase in wages.

The SCC demands that the Stormont Assembly be held accountable for this tragedy and reverse all cuts in health. Until proper funding for public services is restored these incidents will only increase.

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For more information contact:

Pat Lawlor – 07810522111

David Adair – 07743346834