Tag: hospitals

Kids Operating Room and Smile Train roll out solar surgery system to improve care of children in Nigerian hospitals

  • Kids Operating Room and Smile Train successfully install solar surgery systems in 23 hospitals across Nigeria
  • The Solar Surgery system ensures reliable power for medical equipment during surgeries, addressing frequent power cuts
  • Initiative boosts patient safety and surgical outcomes, and reduces carbon emissions
  • Partnership aims to upgrade more than 30 paediatric theatres across Africa by 2025

Kids Operating Room (KidsOR), the Scottish charity dedicated to ensuring every child has access to safe surgery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused charity, announce the successful implementation of the Solar Surgery system in 23 hospitals across Nigeria.

In their groundbreaking partnership, the two organisations are taking significant strides to enhance surgical care in Nigeria through the creation of new surgical facilities, training of local surgical teams, and now the deployment of solar powered operating theatres to ensure every child has access to a safe operation, free from the risks of power outages.

Solar panels have been installed on the roofs of the operating facilities in Nigeria, charging smart battery units that power vital medical equipment in an operating room. This innovative approach combats the frequent power cuts experienced in many African hospitals, ensuring uninterrupted care and better outcomes for patients.

The system monitors what power is needed by the surgical team and provides that directly from the panels, meaning children across Nigeria are now having operations powered entirely by the sun. However, the system can seamlessly switch to a blend of solar and battery power on cloudy days and can go on to provide 8-hours of continuous use into the night. Only when there is no sunlight, and the reserve is being depleted will the system start to pull power from the local grid. 

The partnership between KidsOR and Smile Train promises to deliver reliable power to Nigerian hospitals, improving patient safety and improving surgical results while also reducing the carbon emissions of the facilities – setting a sustainable standard for medical treatment across Africa.

Globally, one in 700 babies are born with a cleft lip and/or palate. Sadly, many of these children miss out on the vital reconstructive surgery they need, which can lead to challenges in eating, breathing, and speaking. Smile Train is the world’s leading charity focused on transforming the lives of these children and recently announced supporting their 2 millionth cleft surgery.

Nkeiruka OBI, Vice-President and Regional Director, Africa of Smile Train, commented: “Erratic power supply is a norm in Nigeria, like most developing countries. Interruption of power during a surgical procedure could jeopardise the life of the patient. It is not a desirable experience.  

“By harnessing clean and renewable solar energy, which by the way we have in abundance in this part of the world, surgical teams can confidently operate critical medical equipment and ensure that children with clefts can receive safe, timely surgeries regardless of power outages.  

“The solar-powered theatre is a game changer, in transforming healthcare delivery across Africa, especially in areas where unreliable power limits access to safe surgical care. 

“With each solar-powered theatre, we take a step closer to universal access to safe surgery, amplifying the impact on children, families, and entire communities. Smile Train and KidsOR’s partnership truly serves as a model on how meaningful collaboration and innovation can overcome healthcare challenges and drive sustainable change across the continent.”

David Cunningham, CEO of KidsOR, commented: “Our partnership with Smile Train is making a life changing difference to children in developing countries across the globe. In Nigeria, and across Africa, we are working with Smile Train to pave the way for a future where no child has to fear a power outage as a significant risk to their life during an operation.

“In Nigeria, we will shortly have moved 30 operating rooms onto the exciting Solar Surgery system, which means surgical facilities across the country will be able to operate at full capacity and are no longer restricted by frequent power outages.”

Health Board urges people not to visit hospitals if they have symptoms of vomiting or diarrhoea 

Members of the public are being urged not to visit hospitals if they are displaying symptoms of vomiting or diarrhoea, or if they have been in contact with anyone who is unwell. 

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) issued the advice to those who are planning to visit loved ones in hospital. 

The health board said anyone with vomiting or diarrhoea symptoms, or anyone who has been in recent contact with someone with these symptoms, should not visit until they feel better. 

It comes amid a rise in winter related illnesses including Norovirus, Gastroenteritis, COVID-19 and flu across Scotland. 

Visitors are also reminded to practice good hygiene by ensuring they regularly wash their hands to prevent the spread of viruses. 

Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are common symptoms of these illnesses, along with headaches, fever and muscle or limb pain.  

Symptoms of Gastroenteritis include: 

  • Suddenly feeling sick 
  • Projectile vomiting 
  • Watery diarrhoea 
  • Slight fever 
  • Headaches 
  • Painful stomach cramps and aching limbs

Symptoms of COVID-19 include:

  • Continuous cough 
  • High temperature, fever or chills 
  • Loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell 
  • Shortness of breath 
  • Unexplained tiredness, lack of energy 
  • Muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise 
  • Not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry 
  • Headache that’s unusual or longer lasting than usual 
  • Sore throat, stuffy or runny nose 
  • Diarrhoea 
  • Feeling sick or being sick 


Symptoms of flu include: 

  • A sudden fever 
  • A dry, chesty cough 
  • A headache 
  • Tiredness and weakness 
  • Chills 
  • Aching muscles 
  • Limb or joint pain 
  • Diarrhoea or abdominal (tummy) pain 
  • Nausea and vomiting 
  • A sore throat 
  • A runny or blocked nose 
  • Sneezing 
  • Loss of appetite 
  • Difficulty sleeping 


In recent years, taking precautions against viral infections have become part of our daily life and we can all continue to help each other by following guidance around slowing the spread of viruses and practicing good hygiene.

You can protect yourself and others by staying at home if you are unwell and by cleaning hands and surfaces regularly.  


Dr Aleksandra Marek, Consultant Microbiologist and Infection Control Doctor, said: “We are asking anyone with symptoms including vomiting or diarrhoea, or anyone who has been in contact with someone who has these symptoms, not to visit our hospitals. 

“During the winter months, illnesses such as Norovirus, Gastroenteritis, COVID-19 and flu, can add to the pressures that staff face across our sites. 

“To help protect yourself, your loved ones and our services, we are asking members of the public not to visit our hospital sites if they are displaying symptoms of any of these viruses.  

“We are also asking anyone who does attend a site to follow infection control guidance, such as washing your hands regularly.”

NHSGGC is urging people to only attend Emergency Departments (A&E) if their condition is very urgent or life-threatening.  

Any patient unsure of who to turn to has a range of options available to them: 

1. Visit the NHS Inform website:
https://www.nhsinform.scot/ 

2. Call NHS24 on 111 

3. Visit the NHSGGC website: https://www.nhsggc.scot/your-health/right-care-right-place/ 

For very urgent or life-threatening emergencies, the public should continue to call 999 or attend A&E. 

Health Board issues advice on Gastroenteritis, COVID-19 and flu to visitors


Members of the public are being reminded not to visit NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hospitals if they have symptoms of Gastroenteritis, COVID-19 or flu.  

Anyone planning to visit a loved one in hospital should not do so if they are displaying any symptoms including sickness and diarrhoea.  

All visitors should also practice good hygiene by ensuring they regularly wash their hands to prevent the spread of viruses.  

Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are common symptoms of Gastroenteritis, flu and COVID-19, along with headaches, fever and muscle or limb pain.  

Flu and COVID-19 symptoms also include coughs, chills, a sore throat and a blocked or runny nose.  
 
Symptoms of Gastroenteritis include:  

  • Suddenly feeling sick  
  • Projectile vomiting  
  • Watery diarrhoea  
  • Slight fever  
  • Headaches  
  • Painful stomach cramps and aching limbs 
     

Symptoms of COVID-19 include:  

  • Continuous cough  
  • High temperature, fever or chills  
  • Loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell  
  • Shortness of breath  
  • Unexplained tiredness, lack of energy  
  • Muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise  
  • Not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry  
  • Headache that’s unusual or longer lasting than usual  
  • Sore throat, stuffy or runny nose  
  • Diarrhoea  
  • Feeling sick or being sick  

Symptoms of flu include:  

  • A sudden fever  
  • A dry, chesty cough  
  • A headache  
  • Tiredness and weakness  
  • Chills  
  • Aching muscles  
  • Limb or joint pain  
  • Diarrhoea or abdominal (tummy) pain  
  • Nausea and vomiting  
  • A sore throat  
  • A runny or blocked nose  
  • Sneezing  
  • Loss of appetite  
  • Difficulty sleeping.

In recent years, taking precautions against viral infections have become part of our daily life and we can all continue to help each other by following guidance around slowing the spread of viruses and practicing good hygiene. 

You can protect yourself and others by staying at home if you are unwell and by cleaning hands and surfaces regularly. 

Dr Aleksandra Marek, Consultant Microbiologist and Infection Control Doctor, said: “During the winter months, illnesses such as Gastroenteritis, COVID-19 and flu, can add to the pressures that staff face across our sites.  

“To help protect yourself, your loved ones and our services, we are asking members of the public not to visit our hospital sites if they are displaying symptoms of any of these viruses.   

“We are also asking anyone who does attend a site to follow infection control guidance, such as washing your hands regularly.  

“Our dedicated members of staff are working around the clock to continue to provide the highest standard of patient-centred care possible.” 


  
NHSGGC is urging people to only attend Emergency Departments (A&E) if their condition is very urgent or life-threatening.   
  
Any patient unsure of who to turn to has a range of options available to them: 
 
1. Visit the NHS Inform website: https://www.nhsinform.scot/  
2. Call NHS24 on 111  
3. Visit the NHSGGC website: https://www.nhsggc.scot/your-health/right-care-right-place/  
  
For very urgent or life-threatening emergencies, the public should continue to call 999 or attend A&E.  

HEALTH CRISIS: NHS Lothian is ‘stretched beyond capacity’

Hospitals and GPs in Lothian are being stretched beyond capacity as a result of sustained and intensifying pressures, NHS Lothian has warned.

Speaking in Tuesday, Calum Campbell, Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said the healthcare system was under extreme duress as a result of an increase in the numbers of emergency patients, large numbers of delayed discharge patients and an increase in respiratory illnesses.

He said teams at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, St John’s Hospital, the Western General Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People were all being pushed to the limit.

To help free up vital beds, he said that some relatives may be asked if they can provide care to their loved ones as an interim measure while those packages of care to help in their own homes are put in place by their local Health and Social Care Partnership.

He said: “These challenges are unprecedented, but they are also sustained. We need people in Lothian to help their own communities and the NHS.

“We have large numbers of people waiting to be admitted into a hospital bed, so I would urge everyone who is asked to provide care to their loved one to give the request some serious consideration.”

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said: “Our teams will have carried out a robust clinical assessment before they discuss the temporary possibilities with patients and their families.

“We know that most patients want to return home as soon as they possibly can, especially at this time of year. This would also help our teams and the patients waiting to be admitted.

“Also, if you have a loved one in hospital who has been discharged and requires to be collected, please do so as early in the day as possible.”

The primary care sector in Lothian also experienced one of its busiest days to date on Monday (19th December) as they provided care to increasing numbers of adults and children, especially families with concerns around Strep A following recent increases in the virus.

Jenny Long, Director of Primary Care, NHS Lothian, urged people to remember that there were a number of winter viruses in circulation and to consider NHS Inform and their local pharmacist for help and advice, use over the counter medication, drink plenty of fluids and rest.

Cold-type symptoms such as a runny nose or mild cough are more likely to suggest a viral illness.

If you have a sore throat, but can eat and drink, and don’t have a very high temperature then it is likely to be a common virus and there is no need to contact your GP.

The most up to date information on Strep A can be found at 

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/streptococcus-a-strep-a/.

Fears for NHS as winter looms

Responding to the latest Emergency Department performance figures published by NHS England for August 2022, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Katherine Henderson said: “The data is stark. We are worried about the coming winter.

“These are the second worst data on record. Too many patients are waiting too long. We know long waits contribute to patient harm. In August over 29,000 patients waited over 12 hours after a decision to admit was made, with some patients waiting up to three days for a bed.

“We think the consequence of this is shown in the ONS data as 500 excess deaths a week. We must not accept these long stays as normal. We need to see leadership and meaningful action that gets to grips with this crisis.

“We urge the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and incoming Health and Social Care Secretary, Therese Coffey (above), to make tackling the crisis in Emergency Care a priority.

The scale of patient harm occurring is shocking. The Emergency Care system is failing to its core functions; it is vital that we mitigate the impact of this crisis ahead of winter and do all we can to keep patients safe and reduce these dangerous waiting times.

“The Prime Minister and Health Secretary must urgently bolster the social care workforce. Thousands of beds are occupied by patients who are medically fit to be discharged, but the lack of social care service means that getting patients home is a slow and complex process.

“This means that hospitals have difficulty in discharging patients in a timely way, leading to exit block, poor flow throughout the hospital and subsequent problems in Emergency Departments and ambulance waits. The need for investment in social care couldn’t be clearer.

“Staff are exhausted, overwhelmed and in the midst of the worst crisis the NHS has ever faced. Widespread shortfalls of staff across all grades and departments mean health care workers are spread increasingly thinly and more prone to burnout – there are currently around 130,000 vacancies in the NHS almost 10% of its workforce.

“The Prime Minister must deliver the fully funded long-term NHS workforce plan that the government pledged to deliver in 2019. Emergency Care is in crisis and there is a shortfall of 2,000-2,500 Emergency Medicine consultants and widespread shortages of vital nursing staff, trainees, SAS doctors and junior and supporting staff are contributing to the challenges.”

The latest Emergency Department performance figures published by NHS England for August 2022for show:

  • There were 1,304,378 attendances at major Emergency Departments
    • There were 1,988,779 total attendances at all Emergency Care facilities
  • 28,756 patients were delayed for 12 hours or more from decision to admit to admission
    • This is the second highest number of 12-hour waits on record, just 561 short of the previous record in July 2022
    • There have now been 178,770 12-hour waits (from decision to admit to admission) so far this year
  • Four-hour performance at major Emergency Departments was 58.0%, this is the second worst four-hour performance on record, the lowest was recorded the previous month, July 2022
    • More than 2 in 5 patients were delayed by four-hours or more
  • Type 1 admissions stood at 350,618 (a daily average of 11,310)
  • 130,528patients spent more than four hours in an Emergency Department from decision to admit to admission (also referred to as ‘trolley waits’)
  • Bed occupancy stood at 92.8% (far higher than the recommended 85%)

Hopsital Episodic Statisticsfor July 2022 published by NHS Digital show:

  • The longest wait in an Emergency Department from time of arrival until treatment was 4,320 minutes or 72 hours
  • The number of patients leaving the department before being seen stood at 6.0%
  • The rate of unplanned reattendance was 9.0%

NHS Lothian Summer Youth Taster Volunteering Programme

NHS Lothian is delighted to announce the launch of its Summer Youth Volunteering Programme.  The programme offers young people aged 16-24 the opportunity participate in a series of taster volunteering experiences over a five week period in one of our Acute or Community Hospitals. 

Young people participating will gain – 

·       The opportunity to gain insight into the NHS Lothian and careers in health care

·       The opportunity to build confidence and develop skills

·       A reflective workbook to identify new skills and experiences to support applications for work or study

·       Travel expenses

·       Volunteer uniform

·       Young Scot Points

·       A reference on completion of the summer programme

·       The opportunity to volunteer to extend volunteering beyond the summer programme commitment if desired

·       You can also use the volunteering hours towards a Duke of Edinburgh or Saltire award

We are currently accepting applications. The closing date for applications is the 3rd of June. 

If you have any queries about the Summer Youth Volunteering Programme or would like a member of the Voluntary Services Team to speak to a group of young people or to your colleagues, then please contact Head of Volunteering Jane Greenacre via jane.greenacre@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

Care home and hospital visiting

Visits to people in hospital and care homes to continue with additional protection measures

Visitors to hospitals and adult care homes are being asked to take an LFD test before every visit under new guidelines.

Adult care homes and hospitals should continue to support visits for residents and patients, however new recommendations set out that visits should be in line with the rules for the general public brought in to control the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The guidance stresses that residents in adult care homes should continue to have opportunities to connect safely with their loved ones, if the protective measures to support safe visiting are maintained.

Under new guidelines no more than two households should meet with a resident at any one time inside the care home and residents are asked to avoid larger gatherings when visiting friends and family outwith the care home.

Staff testing has increased to daily and all visitors should test before every visit. As before named visitors can still be supported  to visit residents in care homes with a controlled COVID-19 outbreak if the local Health Protection Team has agreed this can happen. Essential visits in circumstances such as distress or end of life should be compassionately and generously supported at all times.

Hospital visiting must continue to be prioritised, with appropriate precautions and protections. These include asking all visitors to use an LFD test ahead of visiting, and for no more than two people to visit a patient at any one time, on wards where there is no current active outbreak. Where an active outbreak is being managed, hospitals should allow essential visits only.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are clear hospital visiting must continue, with appropriate precautions and protections in place. We are also mindful of the imminent Christmas period and what this means for patients, staff, visitors and communities.

“Our expectation is that every patient in hospital in Scotland over the Christmas and New Year holiday period should be able to benefit from the support of at least one visitor and, wherever it is safely possible, two.

“These additional measures, in recognition of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, are on top of existing infection prevention and control measures. As has always been the case, we expect protections such as hand hygiene, face coverings and distancing to continue to be maintained.

“The additional protective measures for adult care homes aim to balance the current Covid-19 risk and the need to keep people safe in line with clinical advice provided about the risks of Omicron variant of COVID-19 at this time. 

“Anyone who visits a hospital or care home should undertake an LFD test before every visit in order to keep patients and residents safe. However the additional measures in care homes and hospitals are based on the principle that, using all the protective measures, people living in care homes or being treated in hospitals should continue be supported to see and spend time with those important to them.

“It is vital that everyone works together to enable people to see each other in the lead up to and over the Christmas period so that everyone can spend time with one another safely and with confidence.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank all health and social care staff who have worked tirelessly to enable people, whether patients or care home residents, to stay connected with their loved ones. Their contribution has been immense.”

Health organisations warn of mounting patient safety crisis in Urgent and Emergency Care

Nearly two thirds of A&Es across the UK had ambulances waiting to transfer patients every day in the past week, according to a new survey from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

The latest RCEM survey covers the period 8 November to 14 November 2021 and was sent to Clinical Leads in Emergency Departments across the UK and received 70 responses.

The NHS mandates that ambulance handovers ought to be reliably completed within 15 minutes of arrival, but 61% of Emergency Departments in the survey were struggling to meet this standard every day.

The survey also found that over half of Emergency Departments had provided care to patients in non-designated areas such as corridors every day in the past week.

These findings come following a report by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) which found that 160,000 patients may be coming to harm annually as a result of ambulance handover delays.

While a separate report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, ‘Crowding and its Consequences’, found that at least 4,519 patients have died as a result of dangerous crowding in Emergency Departments in England in 2020-2021.

The Royal College’s survey also found:

  • 14% of respondents stated that the longest stay they had had in their Emergency Department was between 48 and 72 hours
    • 36% of respondents stated the longest stay in their Emergency Department was 24 to 48 hours
    • 39% of respondents stated the longest stay in their Emergency Department was 12 to 24 hours
  • 14% of respondents stated that there was no effective Same Day Emergency Care available in their Emergency Department
    • 50% of respondents stated that Same Day Emergency Care had limited availability, less than 12 hours a day or weekdays only in their Emergency Department
  • 71% of respondents stated that they were unable to maintain social distancing for patients in their Emergency Department in the past week

Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “These results show the serious state that our urgent and emergency care system is in.

“None of us want to have patients held in ambulances, treated in corridors, or waiting very long times to go up to a ward bed. Sadly, these findings support our stark report on crowding and the AACE’s shocking report on ambulance handovers.

“We all need to work together to solve this acute patient safety problem. We believe enacting many of the suggestions we have made in RCEM CARES: The Next Phase will help. We want patients to feel confident that their Emergency Care system is there for them, but this winter is going to be a huge challenge unless we can get flow back into the system.

“RCEM CARES: The Next Phase details our system-wide plan to tackle the current crisis and improve patient care as well as staff wellbeing. In the short-term, to promote flow and to reduce handover delays, capacity must be expanded in a safe way. Same Day Emergency Care must be made available at all Trusts and they must expand its provision, so it is available 12 hours a day, seven days a week. While maximising the service Discharge to Assess will allow patients to be discharged in a timely and supported way.

“In the long-term, we urge the government to publish a long-term workforce plan, this must include actions to retain existing staff as well as recruit new staff. Across the UK there is a shortfall of 2,000-2,500 WTE Emergency Medicine consultants, and crucially, there are also widespread shortages of Emergency Medicine nurses and both junior and supporting staff. At the same time capacity is severely depleted across the UK. The government must restore bed capacity to pre-pandemic levels, this requires an additional 7,170 beds across the UK.

“This is only the beginning of winter and of what may come. We are facing a crisis in urgent and emergency care and a crisis of patient safety. The Secretary of State in the House of Commons spoke of ‘a duty to avoid preventable harm of everyone working in health and social care’, we urge him to act on his own words and prevent avoidable harm and ensure the safety of patients.”

Managing Director of AACE Martin Flaherty OBE QAM said: “These alarming new figures from RCEM underline once again the unprecedented pressures facing the entire urgent and emergency care system.

“We now know that excessive handover delays and crowding in A&E departments are routinely harming patients, some very severely. To resolve this, we need system leaders to further toughen their resolve to deal with this problem once and for all and as a matter of priority and we await details of progress being made in this area, while underlining our commitment to work as part of the solution to this complex issue.”

Tracy Nicholls, Chief Executive of the College of Paramedics, said: “We must not forget that behind all these mounting figures are real people, both staff and patients, who are bearing the brunt of this continuing strain on services. 

“Reform must happen to alleviate the intolerable pressure and reduce the guilt many paramedics and Emergency Department staff feel about dealing with patients who are waiting outside Emergency Departments or, more worryingly, in the community.

“We support any efforts to deal with the here and now, but we commit to working with stakeholders and partners to make real change happen.”

Scottish Government commits extra funding to tackle delayed discharge from hospitals

Humza Yousaf: “This winter is likely to be the most challenging in the history of the NHS”

The Scottish Government is investing an additional £10 million to help patients avoid a hospital stay wherever possible – and to prevent delayed discharge for inpatients.

This is part of a range of actions included in the £300 million winter package of funding to health and social care services, and outlined in the health and social care winter plan, to take the pressure off hospitals and frontline staff.

Two new programmes – Interface Care and Discharge without Delay – will support NHS Boards to explore alternatives to hospital inpatient care where appropriate, and improve the discharge process for those who do need to be admitted to hospital.

Interface Care, backed by an additional £6 million this financial year, will deliver safe, high-quality care as an alternative to hospital admission, or will support early hospital discharge. The programme will be implemented by early winter.

Discharge without Delay, supported with a further £4 million, will improve pathways through hospital settings, reducing inpatient length of stay and building bed capacity. Working with patients, families and/or carers, it will ensure patients are treated in their home where appropriate.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “This winter is likely to be the most challenging in the history of the NHS, and it’s important we take urgent action to ensure our hospitals and emergency frontline staff are not overwhelmed. That’s why these actions to improve the discharge process, and redirect patients who don’t need to be in hospital, are so important.

“I am confident that through our collective investment in people, capacity and systems to deliver the right care in the right setting, we can improve outcomes for those of us who need to use our health and social care services.”

The Scottish Government has invested more than £80 million this year to support the reduction in waiting times for people having elective procedures, which has been impacted by the pandemic. To minimise delays for those patients waiting on urgent hospital treatment within four weeks, including cancer patients, extra capacity is being provided through private hospitals over the winter period.

Discharge without Delay launches this month, with four early adopter sites to test the approach, with the aim of rolling the programme out nationally across all sites over the next 10 weeks.

The Interface Care Programme launched this month in two pathfinder sites – NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Tayside. Roll out across all boards is planned over the winter.

RCEM Scotland: Performance deteriorates further as four-hour target falls to record low

The latest Emergency Department performance figures for Scotland published by the Scottish Government yesterday for July 2021 show that performance has deteriorated once again with four-hour performance reaching its lowest since records began, and the number of patients delayed in major Emergency Departments continues to rise steeply.

In July 2021 there were 114,392 attendances to major Emergency Departments across Scotland. This is a three per cent decrease compared to June 2021, an 18% increase when compared to July 2020.

Four-hour performance reached its lowest since records began, having deteriorated for the third consecutive month. 79.5% of attendances to major Emergency Departments in Scotland were seen within four hours. 23,493 patients were delayed by four-hours or more in a major Emergency Department, this is the highest figure since records began.

This is equal to more than one in five patients delayed by four hours or more in a major Emergency Department. The number of patients delayed by four-hours or more reached its highest ever figure having increased for the fifth consecutive month.

In July 2021, 755 patients spent 12-hours or more in a major Emergency Department, this is the highest figure since February 2020. This is nearly a 50% increase on the previous month, June 2021. It is a 3,000% increase compared to July 2020 and it is a 200% increase compared to July 2019. The number of patients delayed by 12-hours or more increased for its third consecutive month.

Data also show that 3,477 patients spent eight hours or more in a major Emergency Department. This is the second highest figure since records began. It is an increase of 50% compared to the previous month, June 2021.

It is an increase of over 1,000% compared to July 2020, and it is an increase of 200% compared to July 2019. The number of patients delayed by eight-hours or more increased for its third consecutive month.

Dr John Thomson, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “These figures show an ongoing deterioration in performance. Current pressures are equal to or worse than normal winter pressures – but these figures are for July.

“Among staff there is serious concern and low morale, winter is fast approaching and quite simply there is low confidence that our hospitals and staff are going to be able to cope.

“The number of patients delayed in Emergency Departments has risen steeply for three consecutive months, the pressures on this trajectory could lead the health service into a crisis.

“It is unacceptable that patients are delayed for so long, in one Emergency Department a patient was delayed by 48 hours – these are dangerously long waits that are likely to adversely affect patient outcomes.

“We have a duty to keep patients safe and treat them quickly and effectively. The current challenges are hindering our ability to achieve that, and for both patients and staff alike it is incredibly difficult.

“The entire health service is under severe strain. Our primary care colleagues are facing record demand, the elective care waiting lists continue to grow, all departments and specialties are facing these unprecedented challenges.

“Yet, while demand is high, the numbers of patients are not the challenge – the challenges stem from capacity issues, across-the-board workforce shortages, and the limitations and deterioration of hospitals and equipment – resourcing has not met demand for some time.

“It would be irresponsible to look on these consistently decreasing monthly performance figures and not recognise the potentially looming crisis fast approaching this winter. Now is the time for an appropriate response.

“We need the Scottish Government to take action, to develop and communicate a joined-up plan on how the health service is going to manage ongoing demand and prepare the workforce, hospitals and Emergency Departments for the upcoming winter.”