NHS Grampian has issued an urgent plea to the public this afternoon to attend hospital only in life-threatening situations as the health board faces mounting pressures.
In the past hour, an image taken outside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) shows at least 13 ambulances waiting outside the accident and emergency department (A&E), with a number of support vehicles in situ.
In a tweet issued earlier this afternoon, the health board said: “The emergency department at ARI continues to be extremely busy and long waits are to be expected.
“Members of the public are reminded only to attend the emergency department if the situation is life-threatening.”
‘Too many people going to hospital – and not enough beds’
At the end of last month, the P&J reported how up to half the north-east’s ambulance fleet was “stuck” outside A&E during one evening.
As many as 18 ambulances were stationed outside the city’s flagship hospital as ambulance crews waited to hand over patients.
A source told The Press and Journal: “The issue is that there are too many people going to the hospital, and it doesn’t have enough beds.
“I don’t want to scare members of the public, but the reality is, there’s a significant lack of exposure to emergency calls.”
‘Looking to see some significant improvement from ARI’
First Minister Humza Yousaf was quizzed on mounting pressures at ARI during a visit to Aberdeen this afternoon.
He said that turnaround times at the flagship hospital are “not acceptable”.
Mr Yousaf said: “The health secretary and I have had a conversation about this and I know he’s taken it up with Grampian.
“The concern here is we’re still seeing a significant number of people delayed in being discharged from hospital and that is disturbing the entire flow of the hospital.
“I know ARI – I’ve seen a note recently – are taking a number of actions to address ambulance turnaround times.
“It has to be said I’m looking to see some significant improvement from ARI and to see that improvement very soon.”
13 ambulances stacked up outside ARI today
A spokesperson for NHS Grampian said: “Ambulances having to wait at the front door is not what we aim for – for our patients and indeed our colleagues at SAS. We apologise to anyone who has been impacted by this.
“The reasons behind ambulance waits are challenging. At certain, often unpredictable points, we experience periods of exceptionally high demand at the Emergency Department.
“Our hospitals are currently facing sustained pressure due to the volume of acutely ill patients arriving, bed availability and staffing pressures. This can unfortunately lead to ambulances having to wait at the front door, as we are unable to admit more patients to the department.
“During periods of intense pressure, cases are triaged as normal with those facing life-threatening situations – such as heart attacks or strokes – continuing to be admitted rapidly for life-saving treatment as an absolute priority.
“The very nature of unscheduled care is it has peaks and troughs of activity. These vary hour-by-hour and day-by-day.”
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