Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
A STATE OF EMERGENCY
A&E numbers continue to soar
The emergency department at University Hospital Monklands is witnessing record patient attendances during the current “sustained period of pressure” for the NHS.
Staff saw 561 patients last weekend alone and have consistently had more than 1300 people a week arriving at the department since early May – a huge increase on the hospital’s more regular figure of around 1100 a week throughout June and July 2020.
Casualty attendances have similarly soared throughout the NHS Lanarkshire area, rising above pre-lockdown winter figures to a combined total of more than 18,000 patients in May.
Judith Park, the health board’s director of acute services, said: “We experienced another extremely busy weekend, with the sustained pressure we are seeing across our three acute hospitals showing no signs of easing.
“Attendances at emergency departments remain at record levels with some people attending with mild and minor conditions.
“Our A&E is for those who have a life-threatening emergency.”
Similar pressures being experienced across health and care services mean some planned operations this month have been postponed.
Accident and emergency attendances at Monklands Hospital have soared to record levels, as NHS Lanarkshire experiences “unprecedented levels of pressure” across its three acute hospitals.
Medics at the Airdrie casualty department saw 561 patients in just three days at the weekend, and there were more than 6000 per month in total during both May and June – compared to Monklands having gone over that elevated monthly figure only three times in the previous three-anda-half years.
Health officials this week asked residents to “help alleviate pressure” on its stretched resources; with social care also now having to be prioritised to help the most vulnerable, and dozens of planned surgeries having been cancelled.
They told throughout this month how its three acute hospitals are experiencing “sustained pressure” due to increased Covid-19 cases, efforts to maintain and recover services, and a shortage of staff due to self-isolation or annual leave.
Director of acute services Judith Park said: “We experienced another extremely busy weekend, with the sustained pressure we are seeing across our three acute hospitals showing no signs of easing.
“Attendances at emergency departments remain at record levels, with some people attending with mild and minor conditions.
“Our A&E is for those who have a life-threatening emergency. If you
think you need to attend A&E but it’s not life-threatening, call NHS 24 on 111 day or night, where you will be directed to the right NHS service.”
University Hospital Monklands had 21 Covid-19 patients on Monday, three of whom were in intensive care.
Its emergency department saw 208 patients on Friday, 165 on Saturday and 188 on Sunday.
It has consistently seen more than 1300 people per week since May 9, while the total of 6093 patients during that month represented a 44 per cent increase on May 2020.
Lanarkshire’s three A&E facilities, at Monklands, Wishaw and Hairmyres in East Kilbride, saw a combined total of 18,645 patients in May, up 11 per cent from the previous month and exceeding the 16,134 seen in the
winter month of February 2020, the last prior to lockdown.
With patient numbers at the three facilities now reaching more than 4000 per week for more than two months, health board officials have urged patients to “keep emergency departments for those who need critical care” and make use of community services such as pharmacies, optometrists, NHS 24 and online resources.
GP surgeries are also seeing an increase of 30 to 50 per cent in the number of calls compared to pre-pandemic levels and Lanarkshire’s primary, secondary and community services are described as experiencing “winter levels of demand at the height of summer”.
Ms Park said: “All services in the community, GP surgeries and hospitals are currently operating differently and at different
capacities due to infection prevention and control measures which are putting additional strain on services and resources.
“Our health services are open and we are here if needed. We must work together to make sure you get the right care, in the right place, at the right time by the appropriate health professional for your needs.”
Lanarkshire’s health and social care partnerships have announced a “decision to prioritise urgent care for the most vulnerable” due to the “exceptional” pressure of increased complex cases, hospital admissions and A&E attendances.
It means that they “must currently focus on continuing to provide services to Lanarkshire’s most vulnerable residents; [so] people across Lanarkshire are being asked where possible to help with a family member or friend’s care”.
Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire chief officer Ross Mcguffie said: “This is the most challenging point for staff delivering safe, effective healthcare across the whole of health and social care since the pandemic started.
“Care at home and home support have worked tirelessly through the pandemic, [but] services are extremely stretched across North and South Lanarkshire and we are facing major challenges.”
NHS Lanarkshire this week announced it will be recruiting 22 new permanent physiotherapists to help with the pressure caused by increasing numbers of musculoskeletal conditions.
Its child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is also seeing “a large rise in the number of people requiring urgent unscheduled care, which is impacting on planned care and leading to increased waiting times”.
General manager Emer Shepherd said: “We are tackling these pressures head on while also redesigning the service so we can meet the needs of the young people we see – we are determined to emerge stronger from the pandemic”
Residents are also being asked to “be ultra-responsive to phone call from hospitals” after instances of medics being unable to connect with named contacts which has caused delays to patients being discharged; and to ensure they keep scheduled health appointments after an increase in missed medical sessions.