This could be worst winter ever for A&Es, fear doctors
‘Taking a toll on patients’
CASUALTY doctors warn patients face a winter of ‘long trolley waits and corridor care’ in A&E departments.
They fear this winter will be one of the worst for Scotland’s NHS amid a slump in waiting time performance.
Waiting times at A&E departments are soaring – in October, 559 patients spent more than 12 hours in casualty compared with 159 in the same month of last year.
October’s waiting time figures show 88 per cent of A&E patients were seen within the target of four hours, against 92 per cent last year.
Previous winters have seen patients treated on trolleys in corridors, including at the £842million Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow. It has now set up a pop-up minor injury unit to ease pressure.
But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warns this winter will be even worse.
Vice-president Dr David Chung said: ‘The colder months are a particularly challenging time for emergency departments and all aspects of our health and social care system.
‘Staff members in emergency departments are increasingly concerned that this could be the worst winter for long trolley waits and corridor care.
‘These figures from October are of grave concern. The increase in long waits makes this October look more like a January in comparison to previous years. These figures also do not reveal how overcrowded emergency departments are, with some being expected to look after the equivalent of a ward of patients and still look after the acutely unwell and injured who continue to come.’
Long trolley waits in bright, noisy emergency departments mean patients lack privacy and some can be treated on trolleys for several hours until a bed is found on a ward.
Dr Chung said: ‘While there is increased demand in people attending emergency departments, these long waits are almost all patients waiting for a bed in the hospital. In some cases, this is taking over 24 hours. This is not an acceptable way to provide care in the 21st century and is undoubtedly taking a toll on patients and staff.
‘There are not enough beds in the system, there is not enough care capacity in the community, or both.’
During the winter of 2017-18, an influx of flu cases forced hospitals to postpone surgery and close wards.
The Red Cross was drafted in to take patients home and full hospitals were diverting patients and women in labour.
NHS Lanarkshire office staff were redeployed to clerical and cleaning duties in hospitals.
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex ColeHamilton
said: ‘A&E performance has continued to plummet as doctors and nurses battle to solve the mounting winter crisis without the resources or staff they so urgently need.
‘There can be no more excuses from the Health Secretary [Jeane Freeman]. Under the watch of the SNP Government, this [A&E waiting time] target has not been met for years.’
The Scottish Government said: ‘We continue to work closely with those health boards facing the greatest challenges to help drive improvements.
‘We have invested £10million to help boards put appropriate steps in place to ensure quality of care, patient safety and access to services are maintained over the winter period.’