Hundreds faced ambulance delays at Antrim and Causeway hospitals

A Northern Ireland health trust has reported average ambulance “turnaround” times of 74 minutes at Antrim Hospital and 82 minutes at Causeway Hospital during April 2026.

The figures were presented in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust Board Performance Report for April during last week’s meeting of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust board at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine.

During the same month, 250 patients arriving by ambulance at Antrim Hospital waited more than two hours to be transferred into hospital care, while 100 patients experienced similar delays at Causeway Hospital.

The Trust’s interim chief executive Suzanne Pullins said there had “undoubtedly” been an improvement.

“Ambulance turnaround times have been an area of focus for a very long time,” she stated.

By comparison, in December last year, 436 patients waited more than two hours to be transferred to care at Antrim Hospital following ambulance arrival, while 150 patients experienced delays of more than two hours at Causeway Hospital.

During April, 70 per cent of ambulance handovers at Antrim Hospital took place within 60 minutes, compared to 60 per cent at Causeway Hospital.

However, only 7.9 per cent of handovers at Antrim Hospital took place within 15 minutes, with Causeway Hospital recording 5.9 per cent within that timeframe.

A report on ambulance handovers in Northern Ireland published by the Northern Ireland Audit Office in March 2025 stated that “timely ambulance handovers require appropriate capacity and resources throughout the hospital, including in EDs, and adequate care capacity within the community to enable timely patient discharges”.

In the emergency department at Antrim Hospital, 30.5 per cent of patients were treated within four hours during April. At Causeway Hospital, the figure stood at 46.9 per cent.

The same month, 1,959 patients at Antrim Hospital’s emergency department waited more than 12 hours, while 695 patients waited longer than 12 hours at Causeway Hospital.

At noon on Thursday, June 4, there were 95 patients waiting in the emergency department at Antrim Hospital, 55 of whom had been waiting for more than 12 hours. At Causeway Hospital, 43 patients were waiting in ED, including 33 who had been waiting longer than 12 hours.

Meanwhile, 57 patients at Antrim Hospital were waiting for admission to a hospital bed, alongside 28 patients at Causeway Hospital.