Published Wednesday, 07 September 2011
About 100 members of unions Unison and NIPSA protested outside the hospital, as the board of Belfast's Health Trust met on Wednesday morning.
Demonstrators held up banners saying "A&E saves lives", while chanting: "Save our A&E."
The casualty department was due to close temporarily at the end of September due to a shortage of senior doctors - but it emerged the move has been postponed until November.
Belfast Trust Chief Executive Colm Donaghy insisted the first priority was to provide a safe service to patients.
"We will now put in place alternative arrangements and communicate these widely with the public so that anyone who has a health emergency will clearly know where to go to receive treatment," he said.
Board of Belfast Trust approves 'temporary' closure of A&E at City Hospital by 1st Nov. Shouts of 'it's a disgrace'.
UTV’s Sarah Clarke on Twitter (@sarahclarke_utv)
Tommy Brownlee from NIPSA told UTV the union was told the issue was staffing - not finances or politics.
"Apparently middle grade doctors can't be recruited," he said.
"The executive board was asked why it did not occur to anyone that doctors would be needed to staff an Accident and Emergency department."
SDLP South Belfast MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell condemned the Trust's closure decision.
"This decision displays a disingenuous effort on the part of the Trust. I believe that the Trust has not given a genuine effort to secure the senior staffing required," he said.
"In circumstances where the Royal's casualty is already working to capacity in a temporary building, there will be nowhere for the current A & E clientele of the City Hospital to move to - I appeal to the Trust to start putting patients first and reverse this decision."
South Belfast UUP MLA and former Health Minister Michael McGimpsey welcomed the decision to keep the A&E unit open until the start of November, but urged the Department to reverse their plans to ultimately close the unit in coming months.
"As I have repeatedly stated, Accident and Emergency services across the greater Belfast area are already struggling to cope with demand," he said.
"The Royal Hospital is housed in a temporary building and the Ulster is already coping with more than double the number of visits it was built to accommodate.
"I do not believe there is the capacity in the remaining units to cope with up to 50,000 additional visits per year as a result of the City Hospital A & E closure."
DUP Health Spokesman Jim Wells said: "It is important however that both the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Ulster Hospital in particular are able to deal with the increase in patient numbers arising from this closure. Whilst there is a range of work ongoing to ensure this, I and the Heath Committee as a whole will want to receive continued assurances on this. "
Belfast City Hospital's A &E department will close temporarily from 1 November.