NHS Grampian apologises to patients impacted by critical incident

NHS Grampian says a decision to declare a recent critical incident was “not taken lightly”, as hospitals in the region continue to operate over capacity.

Almost two weeks ago, the health board declared a critical incident due to extreme pressure on the emergency departments at both Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and and Dr Gray’s in Elgin.

They have apologised to patients impacted by the long waits and, on Thursday, its head of acute services said it was a necessary step.

Geraldine Fraser, said both Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary experienced an “unusually high demand” on that public holiday weekend.

“So obviously the critical incident is a serious decision to take, and it’s not one we could take lightly as a board”, she told STV News.

“We were experiencing an unusually high demand over a period of time, and we also had a lack of admittance capacity at Doctor Gray’s Hospital, and we were concerned about the emergency department.

“Obviously now we are in recovery from that, and we will take the learnings from that incident and build that into our planning, particular for the winter but for future learning aswel.

“We are doing a hot debrief to look at initial learning we will follow that up with a fuller debrief session. We will look at the data to see if there was anything particularly unusual about that weekend.

“Whilst we do planning in the lead-up to every weekend and every public holiday weekend, it is often a dynamic situation. We did have a particularly difficult period where we had staffing challenges, so that was one factor, but not the only factor.

“We did have a lack of admittance capacity and at Dr Grays’ in particular, we had a rise in the number of patients who were there in delay.

“So that is something we will look at with our partners, what we could have done differently, and again we will apologise to our patients if they had to wait longer and travel further for their treatment.”

The critical incident at the end of September was the second time in the past couple of years that one has been declared at NHS Grampian – on both occasions, a small number of patients had to be transferred and taken by ambulance to another health board.

Both hospitals are regularly over capacity, and are currently at 113% occupancy.

Getting patients who are ready to leave the hospital back out into the community is a crucial issue, one which again impacts many health boards.

The health board on Thursday was also updated on the progress of the new Anchor Cancer Centre and Baird Family Hospital, which was originally meant to open in 2020.

On Wednesday, it was revealed the cancer centre’s opening will be delayed yet again, it won’t now open until May.

NHS Grampian has again said it won’t allow either to open until they are safe for patients.

Health Secretary Angela Constance STV News

It comes on the same day that Scots will be encouraged to avoid accident and emergency departments if they can be better treated elsewhere in the NHS, the Health Secretary has said.

Angela Constance said a public awareness campaign will be launched this year urging people to use “the most appropriate” health service.

She said some people attending A&E “could be treated more appropriately in services closer to home”.

Constance said: “A collective effort will be critical in the months ahead as we look to support our NHS through the winter. There is a role for everyone in Scotland to play.

“Seasonal illnesses, including flu, are already beginning to circulate, and I encourage everyone who is eligible to come forward for vaccination when invited.

“Last winter, almost 5,000 adults and 1,700 children in Scotland were hospitalised as a result of flu. Getting vaccinated protects you and those around you.

“It’s also important people know how and where to access care.

“Attendances at A&E remain extremely high, and many people could be treated more appropriately in services closer to home.

“A&E should be used for emergencies. Choosing the right service can help people receive advice and treatment more quickly while ensuring emergency care remains available for those who need it most.”