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How boss plans to solve ARI ambulance queuing crisis with ‘rapid release’ scheme

NHS bosses new 'rapid release' plan aims to put an end to ambulance queues at ARI by improving every part of the hospital's system... We speak to the man overseeing the changes.

NHS Bosses have came up with their masterplan to solve the ambulance queuing crisis at ARI. Image: Kami Thomson and Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.
NHS Bosses have came up with their masterplan to solve the ambulance queuing crisis at ARI. Image: Kami Thomson and Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

NHS Grampian chief Adam Coldwells has laid out how a “rapid release” plan could put an end to the ambulance queuing crisis blighting Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).

Increasingly often, paramedics been stuck for hours outside ARI, with patients in the back of ambulances waiting to be treated in the hospital’s A&E department.

With those vital vehicles stacking up outside the facility, concerns are mounting about a lack of resources to send to emergencies elsewhere.

But at today’s NHS Grampian board meeting, interim chief executive Mr Coldwells put forth his plan to end the ambulance queueing crisis at ARI

The Press and Journal spoke to Mr Coldwells afterwards about his way out of the predicament…

And he exclusively revealed how a £17m plan to install 120 more beds is picking up pace.

Ambulance crisis ‘absolutely not where we want it to be’ says ARI boss

At Thursday morning’s crunch meeting, Mr Coldwells told board members about the “huge amount of work” being carried out looking at ways to redress ambulance queuing at ARI.

ARI Interim boss Adam Coldwells.
ARI Interim boss Adam Coldwells has said there is ‘no quick fix’ to the ambulance crisis. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

He admitted: “We know it is absolutely not where we want it to be.”

The meeting came following worsening coverage of the dire situation.

Ambulances have been made to wait up to nine hours with patients in the back due to bed availability and staffing pressures.

One ambulance worker told The Press and Journal that one night this year saw up to 18 mercy vehicles stacked in front of ARI, about “half of the north-east’s fleet”.

15 ambulances piled up outside ARI.
15 ambulances piled up outside ARI. Image: Graham Fleming/DCT Media

The crisis came to a head in May, when no ambulances were available to attend the scene when a one-year-old girl died after being struck by a car in Balmedie.

So how will this be fixed?

Mr Coldwells said that the plan was to improve every moving part of the hospital’s system, so ambulances could be freed up more quickly.

He explained that the crisis is the culmination of a series of small problems, relating to when people arrive all the way up to when they are discharged. And these will all need to be tackled.

If these are all “slightly” under-performing, then it means the whole process is in trouble.

Ambulances at ARI's accident and emergency department.
Ambulances at ARI’s accident and emergency department. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

‘No quick fix’: Aberdeen ambulance problems could take months to solve

Hospital heads in Aberdeen are now looking to speed up how quickly people are taken through various departments, and “making sure we can do that rapidly where we need to”.

Aerial view of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
A ‘cohesive’ plan is needed to solve Aberdeen’s ambulance crisis according to Mr Coldwells. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Mr Coldwells told the meeting: “If someone becomes unwell and needs to get access very quickly, then we need to have a cohesive plan… But there is not a quick fix for this.”

He said it could take a “number of months” to “improve flow through the system at multiple points”.

Mr Coldwells later told The Press and Journal that daily work was ongoing between ambulance bosses and the hospital to alleviate queuing in the short term.

He said: “We have escalation plans between the Scottish Ambulance Service and our emergency department so that they can work together on a day-to-day basis…

“And that is aimed to improve the number of ambulances that are queuing.”

What else is being improved at ARI to fix ambulance crisis?

Mr Coldwells’ plan revolves around improvements to all areas of the hospital.

He told the Press and Journal that ARI was on track to meet its 120 new beds target it set back in October, with 30 being installed in March.

This came following a major review to find immediate and long-term solutions to meet increasing demand at the city hospital.

A shortage had been described as an “exit block” when it comes to freeing up space in the emergency department.

Ambulance in Aberdeen.
Ambulance problems at ARI could take ‘a number of months’ to be fixed. Image: Chris Sumner/ DC Thomson

Recruitment is another field in which ARI bosses are looking to improve on.

Mr Coldwells said that ARI is currently using temporary staff “in quite a number of places in the hospital” as recruitment “isn’t at at the full level that we want”.

These will continue to be deployed at A&E in a bid to accelerate treatment.

What would success look like to NHS chiefs?

And how will he know if the plan has worked?

“I think for our overall plan, success is that we have no queuing ambulances”, he answered.

Countless ambulances have been tied up at ARI over the past few months

“If there’s s rapid turnaround of of ambulances when they arrive at any of our hospitals, that that will be success, and that’s what we’re absolutely striving for.”


Have you been affected by the recent ambulance crisis at ARI? Let us know in our comments section below


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