Scotland's A&E departments not safe for patients, says doctors' union

Scotland's hospitals are "not safe" for patients under current winter pressures on the NHS, a doctors' union says.

Dr Lailah Peel, deputy chair of BMA Scotland, said patient safety was now "at risk every day" in A&E departments.

She spoke to BBC Scotland as Covid cases soared last week and hospital flu admissions hit a five-year high.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the Scottish government was doing "everything possible" in its power to improve the situation.

Dr Peel said a major problem was the shortage of beds due to delayed discharge - where patients who are medically fit are unable to leave hospital, often due to a lack of community care provision.

She told BBC Scotland's Sunday Show: "It's absolutely heartbreaking, because as a doctor you know what you want to do for patients in their hour of need, but you just can't because you've got so many other patients.

"Patients who need to be in intensive care or high dependency units are sitting in A&E departments for hours waiting, it is just not safe.

"Patient safety is at risk every day in our A&Es across Scotland. You just can't give the care you want to give to patients."

Dr Peel said many doctors and medical staff had reached their limit, which was adding to the pressure on health services.

She added: "We've struggled for the last three years, it is absolutely brutal. It is painful to think about the future because we can't see this improving any time soon.

"You see more and more colleagues not turning up to work because they are just broken. More are looking at careers outside of medicine, because it's just so difficult every day."

On Friday Nicola Sturgeon chaired a meeting of the Scottish government's resilience committee to address the pressures on health and social care services.

The first minister and key cabinet ministers met NHS board chiefs, local authorities and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The committee, which included Scotland's Health secretary Humza Yousaf, discussed the Covid-19 situation, the flu outbreak and increased demands on acute sites and social care over winter.

Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland that he was doing everything possible to help move fit patients into community care.

He said about 95% of patients were discharged on time, but the remaining percentage was creating "a real issue for capacity within hospitals".

"Doctors and nurses are working under the most unprecedented pressure of their careers and the NHS's existence," he said.

"People are not getting the level of care I would want, for myself or a family member.

"Our focus is on trying to invest more in social care, to improve conditions for the workforce and to try to create every ounce of capacity we possible can."

Mr Yousaf insisted that the Scottish government had done enough planning for this winter, but said there was not a "silver bullet" that could alleviate current pressures.

He added: "Even with all the mitigation, if we are going to face high levels of Covid, high levels of flu, Strep A and other viral infections, and high energy costs and inflation.

"We planned for this winter as soon as last winter was over, we got right into meetings. There are some things we just could not have foreseen."

Several of Scotland's A&E departments have asked for emergency measures to be brought in after concerns about patient safety and "inhumane" conditions due to high occupancy.

On Friday, NHS Borders said Borders General Hospital was at capacity and paused all routine operations.

The health board said the situation was due to high staff absence from illness and the closure of wards due to Covid, flu and Norovirus outbreaks.

Scottish Labour last week called for the Army to be drafted in to help.

The Scottish government previously called in soldiers to drive ambulances in 2021 during the Covid pandemic.

Mr Yousaf said the Army would not solve the situation, but said he would look at any request from health boards.

"The biggest issue we are facing is the high level of delayed discharge. Drafting in the army is not going to help," he said.

He also said he had "no objection" to any health board declaring a major incident, but said it wouldn't guarantee mutual aid from other boards as all were under pressure.

The latest figures for A&E departments showed a record 1,925 Scots spent 12 hours or more waiting in the week leading up to Christmas.

There have also been reports of lengthy waits to get through to helpline NHS 24 and difficulties getting a GP appointment.

The Scottish Conservatives said Mr Yousaf's planning for winter "came too little too late".

Health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: "He was repeatedly warned a year ago that a winter crisis was looming but he totally failed to act.

"His flimsy NHS Recovery plan which is now well over a year old is simply not fit for purpose. He is offering no solutions to this crisis."