NHS crisis laid bare: Patients treated in chairs at A&E 130% over capacity
Healthcare watchdogs have uncovered several failings at a Scottish hospital operating at 230 per cent capacity including “tearful staff ”, patients not being “well cared for”, and a patient left waiting for 25 hours.
A report from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), following an unannounced visit to Forth Valley Royal Hospital also details how patients were being treated in chairs with IV drips that had “run dry”.
Staff at the hospital were seen to be “tearful” and “appeared worried about not being able to provide appropriate safe care and dignity for patients due to overcrowding”.
Opposition politicians said Forth Valley was an example of the crisis in the NHS across the country, while the Scottish Government, which has now brought the hospital under direct control, said it expected urgent improvements.
HIS staff had already made two visits to Forth Valley Royal Hospital in April, before making an unannounced followup inspection in September, which they said “raised further serious concerns about
the safety and quality of care at Forth Valley Royal Hospital”.
The report into care at the hospital explains how the emergency department was under “extreme pressure” with “occupancy within the emergency department reaching 230 percent at points throughout the day”.
It reads: “This meant an increase of 130 per cent more patients in the department than it was designed to accommodate.
“The longest wait time for patients awaiting transfer to ward areas was 25 hours.”
In the emergency department and other areas, the inspectors found “many patients were being cared for in chaired areas in corridors and within the departments”.
The report highlighted how patients being treated in chairs were not always “easily visible to staff”, with inspectors revealing: “In these areas we observed patients with intravenous infusions that had run dry.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Secretary, Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: “Patients’ lives are being put at risk and while the hospital is now under the control of the Scottish Government, this report shows that urgent action should have been taken far sooner.”
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: "This is yet more damning evidence of the crisis in NHS Forth Valley and across the country.
“We cannot have patients being left overnight on chairs due to a lack of beds. Problems previously identified have been ignored and the position is getting worse.”
Cat hie cow an, the chief executive of NHS Forth Valley, said: “I would like to apologise to those patients whose care and treatment fell below the high standards we aim to provide.
“The report highlights a number of serious issues and immediate action was taken following the visit to quickly respond to the concerns raised by the inspectors.
“We recognise that there is still more work to do, and we are committed to fully addressing all of the report recommendations.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have established an Assurance Board bringing direct government oversight and monitoring in response to NHS Forth Valley’s escalation to Level 4.”