Exclusive:We're really scared about this winter, warn Scottish A&E doctors
Dr Fiona Hunter of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said government action is ‘too little too late’
Emergency doctors have warned they are "really scared about how ugly this winter is going to be" as the NHS buckles under mounting pressure.
Dr Fiona Hunter, vice president the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Scotland, said summer performance had been the worst on record and action to prepare for the winter is "too little too late".
She described the state of emergency departments going into the colder months as “terrifying”.
It comes after a critical incident was declared at emergency departments in Aberdeen and Elgin last weekend due to "extreme pressure".
Dr Hunter said: "Summer performance of emergency care in Scotland has been the worst on record with regards to seeing patients and discharging them or admitting them within four hours. I think we're really scared about how ugly this winter is going to be.”
She said some emergency departments are running at more than 500 per cent capacity.
"Waiting rooms across Scotland have patients languishing on the floor, they've got patients waiting in their cars outside because there is simply no more room in the waiting room, and that's now. That's this week, that's now - that's not the peaks of winter,” she said.
She added: "And that's the terrifying state of our emergency departments going into this winter."
Dr Lailah Peel, an A&E doctor and deputy chair of doctors’ union BMA Scotland, said: “As NHS Scotland heads towards the winter period, there are numerous worrying signs across the system that it will likely be even more challenging than it has in the past.
“The declaration of a critical incident in NHS Grampian, long waits in A&Es across the summer, continued issues with capacity across hospitals and the ongoing pressures on social care all point to the very real possibility that things will become exceptionally difficult when winter illnesses like flu hit.”
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the “grim warnings” must be taken seriously by the Scottish government.
She added: “We have seen before the dire impact on our health service when SNP ministers have failed to take the necessary action to avoid winter chaos, and we must avoid any repeat.
“Scotland’s NHS already faces severe pressures, with A&E stretched to breaking point, corridor care normalised, and ambulances getting stuck in queues outside of hospitals.
“It is imperative that the Scottish government comes forward with a credible, long-term plan that ensures patients get the best care possible and which safeguards staff wellbeing.”
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “While emergency doctors are warning of a terrifying winter, [First Minister] John Swinney is more interested in separatist summits and plotting the break-up of Britain.
“That is a disgraceful dereliction of duty when A&E departments are already in crisis and saw record numbers during the summer.
“Exhausted staff cannot take much more and frontline services could completely collapse in the coming months if the SNP do not act now.
“The SNP need to ditch their constitutional obsession and focus on protecting patients and supporting the frontline staff facing another brutal winter”.
Health Secretary Angela Constance said: “The Scottish government is committed to improving A&E performance, delayed discharge and tackling long delays.
“Our dedicated health and social care staff are the cornerstone of our winter response every year. They show great resilience and determination to meet pressures on our healthcare system – which are not unique to Scotland – head on and we remain focused on ensuring people get the care they need, as quickly as possible.
“I am clear that the status quo cannot continue. That’s why I published a new national plan in August to improve the flow of patients through hospitals and I will be setting out a further range of winter planning measures that we have been working on with NHS boards and local authorities in a statement to Parliament next week.”
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