A 96-year-old woman with chronic back pain had to wait in an ambulance for nine hours as hospital staff in Aberdeen face growing pressure.
The pensioner was “screaming in pain” at the north-east care home where she lives when staff called a doctor on Tuesday afternoon.
An ambulance was sent from Banchory to take her for an X-ray at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).
However, she was not admitted to the ward until almost 10 hours later.
“It’s quite scary for her to go off in an ambulance alone, so I went up to be with her,” her friend, Sarah Tennant, said.
“The ambulance was arriving as I got there at 1pm and the paramedics set her up with morphine, then we took off to the hospital.
“We arrived at the back door of ARI at 2.35pm. She was admitted at 10.55pm.
“She’s 96-years-old and had been lying on the stretcher in the ambulance for nine hours with nothing to eat since 9am.
“The crew were great, I’m so amazed at the patience and professionalism they have, but there must be a more organised way of doing this.”
Nine-hour wait in ambulance outside ARI
The hospital will assess patients based on clinical need so it is impossible to tell in advance how long a wait will be.
Due to growing pressure on the hospital and its staff, the waiting times are increasing.
“I was not aware this was still happening,” Sarah added.
“I don’t think other people realise it is still going on to this extent. Not like it was during Covid or in the winter months.
“On a Tuesday afternoon in summer, I would not have expected them to be stacking ambulances like that.
“The hospital was first contacted at 12.30pm by the GP, could they not have advised the ambulance or myself to come later in the day to pick her up? Rather than sitting outside in a line-up.”
There have been several reports of ambulances “stacking” outside ARI in recent months.
NHS Grampian said they have been experiencing “periods of exceptionally high demand”.
‘Periods of intense pressure’
A spokesperson 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 our Acute Medical Initial Assessment (AMIA) ward, much like at our Emergency Department.
“Our hospitals are currently facing sustained pressure due to the volume of acutely ill patients arriving, bed availability, the availability of community care 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 Scottish Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment.