The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Full’ PRI forced to turn away patients
People sent to Ninewells Hospital due to ‘exceptional demand’
Patients were turned away from Perth Royal Infirmary this week because it was full. People seeking treatment at the hospital in the early hours of the morning were instead sent to Ninewells in Dundee, after NHS Tayside suffered a day of “exceptional demand”. The events between Sunday and Monday have fed fears the hospital is being downgraded, following proposals to transfer emergency operations to Dundee. But healthcare bosses insisted diverting patients to Dundee is part of normal contingency plans. NHS Tayside medical director Professor Peter Stonebridge said: “This temporary divert was part of NHS Tayside’s normal business continuity plans, which are in place to cope with exceptional demand and ensure that we continue to provide high quality, sustainable and safe care for our patients.”
Late-night admissions to Perth Royal Infirmary were sent to Dundee this week after the hospital was filled due to a sudden rush of patients. NHS Tayside management was unable to pinpoint what caused the “exceptional demand” on Sunday and Monday, forcing them to send people to Ninewells Hospital. All unscheduled admissions to PRI were turned away from 2.30am until lunchtime on Monday, apart from emergencies. This has led to concerns about the sustainability of PRI due to staff shortages across the NHS, but healthcare bosses insisted diverting patients to Dundee is part of contingency plans for high levels of patients. Professor Peter Stonebridge, NHS Tayside’s medical director for the operational unit, said: “We experienced a period of exceptional demand on our system over a short period of time, when we saw a third more patients than usual referred for admission. “To ensure we continued to provide a safe and appropriate level of care for our patients, we made the decision to put a temporary divert in place for all unscheduled admissions from Perth Royal Infirmary to Ninewells Hospital from 2.30am on Monday September 3. “This temporary divert was part of NHS Tayside’s business continuity plans, in place to cope with exceptional demand and ensure that we continue to provide high quality, sustainable and safe care for our patients. “Our staff managed the increased patient demand professionally and we would like to thank them for their exceptional work.” Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser stated the hospital is being downgraded, calling on people to sign his Hands Off PRI petition. This comes after maternity, paediatric and pathology services have all been removed in the last 20 years. “These revelations will alarm patients and add further fuel to questions over capacity issues within NHS Tayside,” he said. “Last month independent audits raised concern over ICU bed capacity at Ninewells and here we have the region’s second largest hospital essentially closed for new patients. “People across the region quite rightly fear the downgrading of PRI and right now these concerns are proving to be founded in fact.” Pete Wishart, SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said: “Tory politicians have used this as an excuse to blame NHS Tayside for restructuring that has not yet even been fully implemented. “I would like to put on record my thanks to all staff who worked to ensure that admissions at PRI were treated with the highest priority and that patient care remained the number one focus during this period of exceptional demand.”
People across the region quite rightly fear the downgrading of PRI and right now these concerns are proving to be founded in fact. MURDO FRASER MSP