Leading physicians have issued a joint demand for a four-nations approach to Britain’s A&E crisis, insisting they have “never been more concerned about standards of acute medical care across hospitals in the UK”.
Andrew Elder, the president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), and Dan Beckett, the Scotland representative of the Society for Acute Medicine (Sam), urged all governments of the UK to come together to save the NHS.
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s health secretary, has repeatedly blamed the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the strain on the health service, along with the resurgence of flu, but the medical experts said “these infections are not the primary cause of the problems”.
They added: “With patients waiting many, many hours to be assessed and treated, sometimes in ambulances queueing outside our hospitals, the maxim that our patients should receive ‘the right care, in the right place, at the right time’ has never been further away from the reality of what is actually being provided.”
The Times revealed yesterday that frontline doctors at up to four major hospitals had urged their health boards to declare a major incident because A&Es were “so overwhelmed”. This newspaper has also reported how patients were being treated outside hospitals and in offices as A&E units run out of space in Scotland.
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It emerged on Friday that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde declined to declare a major incident at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital despite “grave concerns” over patient safety.
NHS Borders and NHS Grampian have previously issued a plea to staff on leave to come to work due to “extreme pressure” at hospitals.
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Elder and Beckett’s statement added: “This is an issue central to patient safety and quality of care — the core values the RCPE and Sam represent and that all in the NHS seek to safeguard. If the current situation is not a crisis in acute care we ask our governments to define what they believe a crisis to be. Our fellows and members work in acute hospitals across the UK and fully concur with the statements already made by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine regarding the seriousness of the current situation.”
They called on “all governments of the United Kingdom to discuss urgently what steps can be taken to improve matters for our patients”.
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The Scottish Conservatives have urged MSPs to recall parliament immediately to discuss the growing crisis. The Scottish government said parliament was due to resume next Tuesday and any earlier resumption would be a matter for the presiding officer.
The Conservatives held up a series of questions on the NHS crisis at Holyrood before Christmas with disruptive tactics to prolong scrutiny of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. Douglas Ross, the party leader, was threatened with contempt of parliament for his frequent interruptions.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane, the party’s health spokesman, said: “There’s no doubt that Scotland’s NHS is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, which is why I have asked for the Scottish parliament to be recalled this week. This joint statement is just the latest siren call from senior frontline medics warning Nicola Sturgeon that they can’t currently guarantee patient safety.
“Whether she or her hapless health secretary care to admit it, there is a crisis in acute care — and staff and patients alike need an emergency response from SNP ministers.”
Staff shortages, “dire workforce planning” and bed blocking linked to poor social care provision for patients leaving hospital were at the root of the problems. Gulhane added: “Yousaf is part of the problem, not the solution, and ought to be sacked. His flimsy recovery plan is woefully inadequate.”
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A Scottish government spokesman acknowledged that Scotland was in the midst of “one of the toughest winters in the NHS’s 74-year history”. He said: “We are monitoring the situation in emergency departments extremely closely and are in daily contact with health boards to ensure all possible actions to support services are being explored. Covid has still not gone away and these pressures, combined with pandemic backlogs, are making it a very challenging time for the NHS.
“We have been dealing with one of the coldest periods for many years which put an increasing strain on the NHS. On top of that, flu has been classified at extraordinary levels, with cases admitted to hospital the highest in five years. We also had to deal with rising cases of strep A and other respiratory viruses which has resulted in significant demand on services.
“Delayed discharge continues to have a major impact in driving up accident and emergency waits, and we are working with health boards to ensure people leave hospital without delay, freeing up vital beds for those who need them most.”
