Cardiac bed cuts 'are a mistake'

The Belfast Trust has closed 12 of its 148 beds for heart patients

The closure of 12 of the 148 beds for heart patients in the Belfast Trust area has been branded a "mistake" by a leading charity.

Andrew Dougal of NI Chest Heart and Stroke said the decision to close the 12 beds was driven by targets and not the needs of patients.

The Belfast Trust said the beds have only been closed temporarily.

It added that the move reflects "a seasonal downturn when both staff and patients tend to take holidays".

Mr Dougal said: "Many people in hospitals outside Belfast will be sitting there blocking beds, waiting to get into Belfast for their investigations to find out whether they need heart surgery or not.

"At one stage, the waiting time was four years, they have now got it down to six months which is tremendous and their next target is to get it down to three months. This will set that target, and the possibility of that target, back considerably."

A spokeswoman for the Belfast Trust added: "The bed state will be reviewed at the end of the summer."

It is understood that the trust's three main hospitals - the Royal, the City and the Mater - has each closed four cardiac beds.