‘We need more than apologies, we need action’
As Scotland’s hospitals experienced the second worst January on record for A&E performance, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has told the government ‘we need more than apologies, we need action’.
The figures, released last week (4 March) by Public Health Scotland, come after the First Minister, John Swinney and Health Secretary, Neil Gray, apologised to patients who have experienced extremely long stays in A&Es.
The PHS data, for the month of January, reveals 8,401 patients waited 12 hours or longer in an Emergency Department before being admitted, discharged or transferred.
Since January 2018, the number of people waiting 12 hours or more in major A&Es has increased by 11 times (767 to 8,401), eight hours or more by six times (2,816 to 16,684) and four hours or more by 2.6 times (15,401 to 40,552).
Patients are often stuck in Emergency Departments, on trolleys in corridors, experiencing extremely long stays because there are no in-patient beds available.
This is caused because people who are well-enough to go home cannot be discharged, often due to a lack of social care support.
Therefore, the system grinds to a halt, with ambulances queued outside EDs, waiting to handover their vulnerable patients.
So called ‘delayed discharges’ meant that an average of 1,964 patients each day were in hospital, waiting to be discharged, despite being deemed medically well enough to go home. This is the highest number since 2016, when guidelines changed.
Dr Fiona Hunter, Vice President of RCEM Scotland said: “This data provides a glimpse into the levels of pressure major hospitals in Scotland were under during the depths of winter.
“Each figure, a person who was seeking urgent care in a system that is well off being described as ‘gold standard’.
“And behind each person, is a team of hard-working and burnt-out Emergency Medicine clinicians who are trying to deliver the best care they can to patients who are often on a trolley in a corridor.
“The time for warm words and apologies from policy makers has passed, we need action. Long stays are not just inconvenient – they are dangerous. This is where the real harm lies for patient safety.
“The government’s operational improvement plan, set to be delivered this month, is a golden opportunity to detail how it will address this vitally important issue.
“Until a meaningful plan is put in place, staff and patients will continue to bear the brunt of a system that is in crisis.”
The Scottish Liberal Democrats recently revealed that an 87-year-old woman waited around 12 hours at A&E on separate occasions after she fell and broke her hip.
Her experience was highlighted as the party released data showing 12,438 people aged over 85 waited more than 12 hours in A&E in 2024.
After hearing the patient’s experience, First Minister John Swinney apologised to her and her family for the wait.
Earlier last month, Health Secretary Neil Gray MSP apologised on BBC’s ‘Reporting Scotland’, stating “anybody that is waiting for too long to receive services, either in an Accident and Emergency Department or waiting on elective procedure, I apologise to them. It’s not an acceptable situation.”
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