Health Secretary Neil Gray today apologised to patients after “extreme pressures” at NHS Grampian saw patients turned away from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and redirected to other hospitals.
The senior SNP politician said he was “sorry” to patients whose treatment was interrupted as a result of the “critical incident” last week.
He was warned at Holyrood on Tuesday that “lives are at risk” as the health board struggles to cope with extreme demand.
Patients were redirected to Dundee and Inverness where “clinically appropriate”, while ARI still saw patients requiring life-saving care.
North East Conservative MSP Tess White said the “dire” situation won’t improve when NHS Grampian has the lowest bed base per head of population.
She told Mr Gray that after “lurching from crisis to crisis, patients and staff have had enough”.
“What is the cabinet secretary going to do differently – and I say differently when the central belt obsessed SNP have been short-changing NHS Grampian for years?”, Ms White added.
We previously revealed how the health board has been underfunded by more than £262 million, while the SNP has pumped funds into NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Mr Gray said the accusation of bias was “unfounded”, highlighting his Orkney roots and the fact his two health ministers represent Highland and Islands constituencies.
‘I regret very much that the critical incident happened’
Scottish Labour North East MSP Michael Marra asked the health secretary if all possible capacity within ARI was being utilised during the incident.
Mr Gray said: “The situation within ARI was critical at the end of last week.
“There was far too much corridor care. I don’t want to see corridor care happening anywhere. I think everybody understands the need for that to be resolved.”
He added: “I regret very much that the critical incident happened. I regret that for patients and for staff that were involved.
“The important element now is making sure all possible capacity – not just within ARI but within NHS Grampian – all possible beds are being utilised.”
He told MSPs he has confidence in the board of NHS Grampian and said focus will now turn to how such situations can be avoided in the future.
The critical incident led to some elective procedures and appointments – excluding cancer treatment and diagnostic tests – being postponed.
The health secretary said he “fully expects” those appointments to be rescheduled.
‘All medical wards were full’, says NHS Grampian
An NHS Grampian spokesman said occupancy during the critical incident peaked at 105 patients more than the number of funded beds in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“All medical wards were full and all non-standard bed spaces were in use beyond their normal limits,” the spokesman said.
“ARI has not been below 100% capacity since September 8 and the situation remains extremely pressured, due to the volume of acutely ill patients arriving, delayed discharges, capacity in community healthcare settings and staffing pressures.
“Increased demand on hospital space and capacity is a key issue in Grampian. We have the lowest number of beds per head of population in the country.”
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