Dr Gray's Hospital continues to face "sustained pressure" as number of patients waiting more than four hours in A&E increases by 591 per cent
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
NHS Grampian says that Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin is continuing to face "sustained pressure" after figures showed a sharp increase in lengthy A&E visits over the past four years.
The figures, published by the health board in response to a Freedom of Information request sent by the Scottish Conservatives, show that 1180 patients spent more than four hours in the emergency department in 2018/19. That number has increased to 8154 patients just four years later - a 591 per cent increase.
The Scottish Government's target for the number of patients arriving at A&E and either being discharged, admitted to hospital or transferred within four hours is 95 per cent.
NHS Grampian says that Dr Gray's currently meets this target for 65 per cent of patients and that the average wait to be seen in A&E is 70 minutes.
Alasdair Pattinson, Dr Gray's Hospital General Manager, said: "Our hospital is continuing to face sustained pressure.
"At times we are experiencing high numbers of attendances to our Emergency Department (ED) coupled with, for many, the severity and complexity of illness rising significantly over more recent years.
“We also notice a higher volume of patients presenting being acutely ill, requiring a more intense level of care and in many cases patients are staying in hospital for longer spells and therefore our hospital bed occupancy is very high.
"This at times, then impacts on our ability to move people through ED and into our ward beds, resulting in a number of patients spending longer in the department than we would ideally like to see."
He added: "Whilst many patients remain in the ED for longer than four hours this does not mean they are not being seen and their treatment being started.
“On average patients are waiting approximately 70 minutes to be seen, however, any urgent cases are treated as a priority and timeously.
“A patient's time in ED can also be extended as they await specific diagnostic test results, for example scans or blood tests.
“It's important to stress that patients are always triaged and that those facing life-threatening and emergency situations – such as heart attacks or strokes – are being seen rapidly for life-saving treatment as an absolute priority and we continue to advise patients facing such situations to call 999."
Moray MP Douglas Ross has labelled the figures "scarcely believable" and has blamed the increase on what he has described as the Scottish Government's "flimsy" NHS recovery plan.
Mr Ross said: "In the space of a few short years, there has been a near 600 per cent rise in the number of patients waiting beyond the target time of four hours. That is utterly disgraceful.
"Let me be very clear, this is absolutely no fault of the hardworking and dedicated staff on the frontline at Dr Gray’s who continue to go above and beyond to treat patients as quickly as possible.
“They have been failed by successive SNP health secretaries. Humza Yousaf’s flimsy NHS recovery plan has failed to remobilise A&E services, while Michael Matheson has overseen no improvement to A&E waiting times."
NHS Grampian is encouraging the public to use other means available to them to establish the type of care they need before going to A&E.
The health board says that given the pressure Dr Gray's is currently facing, doing so will help keep waiting times to a minimum.
Mr Pattinson added: "The NHS Inform website and app, and symptom checker, is a very useful first port of call resource.
“If the public require further healthcare assistance, before attending the Emergency Department or a Minor Injury Unit, they can also call NHS 24 on 111.
"Using the 111 service allows us to keep waiting times to a minimum by ensuring the public are getting the care they need in the right place, and better manage our hospital capacity."
