Two patients suffer fatal heart attacks as they wait in A&E
AN investigation is under way after two patients suffered fatal heart attacks while waiting to be seen at a busy accident and emergency department.
The patients were in a queue to be assessed at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) when they suffered cardiac arrests.
Protocols are in place for all new arrivals to be triaged – a medical term for establishing the seriousness of a case – within 15 minutes.
Health board officials are now looking into ‘pressures’ in patient care during the incidents at the QEUH – Scotland’s flagship £842 million hospital which opened in 2015.
The revelation comes as today marks 500 days of Humza Yousaf being Scotland’s Health Secretary.
Under his watch, A&E times have reached their worst ever levels with patients regularly spending ten hours waiting to be seen.
One doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, said last night: ‘These patients may still have suffered a cardiac arrest.
‘But without the pressures, they would have likely been in a cubicle and been partially assessed. We may have picked up on clinical warning signs earlier at least – meaning less trauma for all involved – even if the outcome may have been the same.’
There is increasing pressure on Mr Yousaf to tackle the growing problems gripping NHS Scotland, including the long delays at A&E.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, last week demanded an inquiry into the number of patients who have died due to the ongoing crisis.
But on Thursday, the SNP and their Green Party allies rejected his proposal despite the Royal College of Emergency Medicine warning that long waits for treatment had contributed to hundreds of avoidable deaths.
Mr Cole-Hamilton last night said: ‘The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called for an urgent inquiry into avoidable deaths caused by the crisis in emergency care.
‘These tragic cases highlight exactly why that inquiry is needed.
‘For every extra hour people wait for an ambulance or wait in A&E, there is a demonstrable risk further fatalities like this will happen.’ Mr Cole-Hamilton’s stark warning was echoed by Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman.
She said: ‘This is obviously a tragic set of incidents that requires investigation.
‘The Royal College of Emergency Medicine have warned the SNP government time and time again that long waiting times will lead to people losing their lives. Action must be taken by Humza Yousaf as a matter of urgency.’
A spokesman for Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board, which runs the QEUH, said: ‘Our staff are working extremely hard at a time of considerable pressure and they are doing their very best to prioritise care to patients most in need.
‘While we cannot comment on individual patients, we have clear
‘These tragic cases show why an inquiry is needed’ ‘We may have picked up on warning signs earlier’
and robust processes for reviewing the care we provide and where issues are identified we work closely with the relevant services to implement required changes.
‘We work extremely hard to find solutions to staffing challenges and we work closely with services to mitigate issues that arise and ensure as much as possible that the impact on patient care is minimised.
‘We would like to extend our sympathy to families who have lost a loved one.’