Patients put at risk on 33 wards in superhospital
‘Red’ alert over shortage of nurses
PATIENT safety was put at risk on 33 wards at Scotland’s biggest hospital due to a shortage of nurses, an inspection found.
A report by NHS watchdogs found that ‘unprecedented pressures’ led to concerns about patient care at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH).
The NHS Healthcare Improvement
Scotland inspection of the Glasgow hospital took place in March when the Omicron Covid wave was causing staff shortages and putting pressure on wards across the country.
Inspectors found 33 wards on the campus scored a nurse staffing risk of ‘red’ at the start of the day of inspection, which means shortages ‘may be creating a risk to patient safety’ or are creating patient safety issues ‘that require immediate attention’.
One in ten nursing posts at the QEUH is vacant and at the time of the inspection 9 per cent of nurses were off sick with illnesses including Covid.
The report also detailed how, the evening before the inspection, patients had been diverted from the QEUH A&E department to another hospital because it was so busy.
Patients in a respiratory assessment unit were waiting on chairs in a lounge ‘for long periods of time’, with staff concerned about the risk of patients catching infections from each other.
One patient was being cared for in a room previously used as a storeroom, with no viewing pane for staff and lights that could not be turned off.
Donna Maclean, head of service for Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: ‘We observed the impact of the increased pressures across the hospital such as waiting times in addition to shortages of available staff.
‘Despite this, we observed
‘SNP government has lost control’
senior managers and multidisciplinary teams working hard to alleviate the pressures and we saw staff in clinical areas working hard to ensure the patients were well cared for and their care needs were met.’
Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘The SNP government has entirely lost control at our flagship hospital and lives are at risk as a result.’
Last night health chiefs said the inspection was carried out at a time when the QEUH had the highest number of Covid19 patients in Scotland.
Jane Grant, chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: ‘There were some improvements which could be made in some areas of the hospital. We have now acted upon all of these.’