The Department of Health has said it is "deeply concerned" as hospitals across the country face "extreme pressures" heading into the winter season.
On Saturday night, Antrim Area Hospital was forced to shut its Emergency Department after it had reached full capacity due to the number of patients that were needing to be admitted.
Jennifer Welsh, the Chief Executive of the Northern Trust, said that the pressures were continuing to be felt right into Monday morning.
Read more: Antrim Area Hospital major incident: 'This was a last resort' says Northern Trust chief
On Monday night, The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust issued an "urgent staff appeal" for nurses to work in critical areas.
Taking to social media, they said: "We are appealing for nursing staff (registered nurses and health care assistants) to help across critical areas tonight.
"If staff can assist in any way, please call via the Trust switchboard on 028 9048 4511 and ask for patient flow.
"Bank staff will have received a text message from the Bank Office and should book shifts through EOL in the normal way.
"Thank you once again for your continued support."
The DoH has called for the public to do what they can to help support Health and Social Care trusts as they face continued pressure.
A spokesperson for The Department of Health said: "The Department of Health remains deeply concerned about the situation in our hospitals and across the health and social care system.
"The regional planning for winter pressures has been spelt out publicly and in detail.
"It has always been clear that these plans will only mitigate the problems, rather than resolve them.
"The fundamental reality is that we have a serious mismatch between demand for care and the capacity of the system to provide it."
They continued: "Neighbouring jurisdictions are facing similar challenges.
"We need everyone across society to support our health service in every way they can.
"Hospitals do not have unlimited capacity and it is imperative that when patients have been deemed medically fit they leave the hospital setting.
"Every delayed discharge means a bed is being withheld from a very sick person waiting in an emergency department or in an ambulance outside a hospital, and further impacts on the system’s ability to respond to need in the community.
"Details of winter health service planning initiatives were provided by then Health Minister Robin Swann in a statement to the Assembly last month. The statement covered funding allocations to help sustain operational resilience and detailed a range of actions across secondary care, social care, primary care, workforce, vaccination programmes, COVID-19 testing, and COVID-19 treatments."
Information on the average waiting times for Hospital Emergency Departments is available on the NI Direct website
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