In an already difficult year for NHS Grampian, recently there has been near-unprecedented levels of stress at the north-east health board.
A critical incident declared on Thursday November 28 because of a severe lack of beds meant patients bound for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary were diverted to Dundee and Inverness.
Health chiefs raced to defend the action. NHS Grampian chief executive Adam Coldwells said the the board had “taken this significant step in light of sustained and continuing pressure at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary”.
It was clear urgent measures were needed. An NHS Grampian spokesman revealed that occupancy during the critical incident peaked at 105 patients more than the number of funded beds in ARI.
And in an insight into the dire circumstances at the hospital before the incident was declared, the spokesman revealed that occupancy at ARI had not dipped below 100% since the beginning of September.
One patient waiting from before the pandemic
The critical incident was stood down, but it was yet another blow to attempts by NHS Grampian to reduce treatment waiting times.
The critical incident led to some elective procedures and appointments – excluding cancer treatment and diagnostic tests – being postponed.
However, waiting times at the hospital for some treatments are already too long for some.
Figures seen by the P&J last month, for example, show 34 people are on the waiting list for delayed reconstruction surgery in Grampian as of November 15.
The longest has been waiting since 2017 – three years before the pandemic.
When we asked for feedback, P&J readers vented their own frustrations at lengthy treatment times with NHS Grampian — but also shared their positive experiences with us.
More than 200 readers responded to our call on December 2 with many sharing candid stories.
Gallbladder and broken leg waits at NHS Grampian
Karen Brown said she has been waiting for an operation to remove her gallbladder since February 2020.
“I’m in daily pain,” she continued, adding that she says she had a pre-op in September last year but now just gets “texts and phone calls asking if I still need my operation”.
Another reader said their parent has been waiting three years for a gallbladder operation despite undergoing three pre-assessments.
On a shorter timeframe, another reader from Aberdeen said her husband was waiting at home with a broken leg and dislocated ankle.
“He got told 3-5 days for his operation we are currently on day 9 and still no closer to knowing when his operation will be.”
Vicki Simpson said she was in limbo after she claims one of her breast cancer consultants left without being replaced. She said she didn’t know if the three-weeks radiotherapy she received had been successful.
“Hopefully no news is good news,” she said.
GP waiting times also too long, say some
A number of readers complained about waiting times for GPs.
“Getting a GP appointment has to be the hardest part,” Andrea Murray said, though she added: “Once actually seen face to face I have had two swift referrals with short waits for tests and results back reasonably quickly.”
Underfunded and under-pressure
The responses provide insight into public frustration over waiting times for treatments that have been exacerbated over the years by underfunding.
We reported in August that NHS Grampian has been underfunded by more than £262 million over the past 15 years while central belt health board Greater Glasgow and Clyde was handed £743m more than it was due.
We also recently reported on the human impact of treatment time delays, including the story of breast cancer survivor Denise Rothnie who was still waiting for breast reconstruction surgery three years on from her life-saving operation.
She wears a prosthetic breast, has to wear special bras and experiences difficulties finding suitable clothes.
She told us: “It’s horrible. I hate it. I’ve got a section at the back of my wardrobe with clothes I might get to wear one day.
“I feel awful in the mirror. It’s something I really want done.
Readers defend NHS Grampian and treatment times
Amongst the frustration, however, were readers who praised NHS Grampian and their care.
The comments were a reminder that despite the challenges the health board faces, it still successfully treats thousands of patients day after day.
“Can’t praise them enough,” said Gemma Gray. “Diagnosed with cancer in May and just finished my chemo. Got my operation next week.”
Mary Taylor from Aberdeen said: “They were there when I needed them and I didn’t wait long for my operation. The theatre staff were excellent as were the doctors and nurses during my recovery. Thank you, NHS. I hope we don’t ever lose you.”
A cast for a broken wrist in just a few hours
One mum wrote high praise of treatments for her sons: “Haven’t dealt with ARI, but our GP and RACH (Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital) were fab when my son was ill.
“They had him booked in for ultrasounds, X-rays and blood tests within days of seeing GP a few months ago.”
She added: “And last year when my other son broke his wrist, we went to A&E and within a few hours he was X-rayed and casted.”
Another reader who had a positive experience was Rhoda Norrie, who said she was seen by a GP in April, who she said referred her to neurology.
“I cannot complain,” wrote Rhoda.
She said she got an MRI in May and “saw neurologist in ARI in June for results who said I needed op,” and said she had her operation a few weeks ago, with a follow-up telephone consultation with a neurologist to check in on her.
Reader Sarah Elizabeth said: “The NHS have been nothing but amazing for me personally.
“Lots of issues with other members of the family, but for my personal experience I’ve been seen, referred, had two consultations and two referrals in a remarkably short timeframe along with tests and results in that timeframe too.
“Thank you for a great service.”
NHS Grampian responds
A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: “We welcome all feedback and would encourage anyone with a concern to raise this with us directly so it can be appropriately and thoroughly investigated.
“We appreciate those who have taken the opportunity and the time to thank our excellent teams for high standards of care delivered.
“Colleagues are working through a much greater number of referrals across many different areas of healthcare and continue to go above and beyond on a daily basis.
“NHS Grampian has the second lowest funding per head of population in Scotland and the lowest number of beds relative to our size.
“Annually, we support over 1.2 million outpatient appointments, and see more than 100,000 admissions, approximately 98,000 emergency department attendances and 4,800 births.
“Our waiting times are longer than we would like them to be and we continue to work hard to see patients as quickly as we can based on their clinical need.
“We are always happy to hear about your experiences of the NHS, good or bad, and you can find all the details of how to get in touch by visiting www.nhsgrampian.org/feedback“
Conversation