Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
A&E figures returning to near-normal levels
Patient numbers at the emergency department at University Hospital Monklands have reached their highest figure since before the first coronavirus restrictions.
There were 1160 attendances at the casualty department in week ending June 21 – the highest number since midMarch.
It means there have now been more than 1000 patients a week at the hospital for four consecutive weeks– the first time since attendances plummeted.
Staff at Monklands A& E ordinarily see around 1300 patients a week – but the 1041 in the seven days ending on May 31 was the first time there had been more than 1000 patients for nearly three months.
There were 1144 attendances in the first week of June, then 1064 in the following seven days, compared to the hospital’s record low of 587 patients in the week ending on April 5, the second complete week of lockdown.
Monklands saw 3076 patients at its emergency department in that month, down from a reduced 4239 in March and 5403 in February, before any cases of Covid- 19 had been confirmed in Scotland.
The hospital’s A&E patient numbers for April totalled just over half of the 5920 attendances in the same month of 2019.
Prior to the pandemic, Monklands’ previous lowest casualty attendance figure on the NHS Performs website – giving statistics back to the start of 2019 – was 1210 for the week of last Christmas.
Before lockdown, patient numbers there had only dropped below 1300 eight times since January 2019 and health board officials were prompted to emphasise to those needing care that “NHS Lanarkshire is open and it is safe”.
Dr John Keaney, who is NHS Lanarkshire acute medical director and consultant in emergency medicine, told the Advertiser: “We want to provide the best and safest care to our patients.
“Part of this is making sure our hospitals, in common with the rest of the community, comply with the national physical distancing guidance for the safety of patients, staff and the public.
“There has been a large increase in the number of people attending the emergency department – people can help us with this by attending on their own in almost all cases. The only exceptions are children and vulnerable adults, who should be accompanied by one adult.
“If someone has driven a relative to hospital, we would ask that they remain in their car or collect them after they have been discharged.”
He added: “With your help, we can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in our hospitals.”