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<\/p>\nInternal documents leaked to the Sunday Mail suggest a financial black hole at one health board has left patient safety compromised.<\/p>\n
Nurses left ‘constantly short’ on wards at one Scottish hospital(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
NHS whistleblowers have warned of dangerous staffing levels on wards amid fears of a \u201cwinter ticking timebomb\u201d at hospitals<\/a> across the country. Internal documents leaked to the Sunday Mail<\/a> reveal a financial black hole at one health board has left patient safety compromised in surgery departments.<\/p>\n It comes after leading emergency Dr Fiona Hunter, vice chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, told how she is fearful of the impact of winter on already stretched services.<\/a> She said A&E departments were providing unsafe levels of care, with some patients spending 72 hours on trolleys in hospital<\/a> corridors.<\/p>\n Now a source at the Royal Alexandra Hospital<\/a> (RAH) in Paisley \u2013 one of the biggest in the country \u2013 has described nurses being \u201crun ragged\u201d, with wards \u201cconstantly short\u201d as pressure mounts by the week. Insiders have now warned the hospital<\/a> had lost a full ward\u2019s worth of beds since last year \u2013 raising fears of corridor care \u2013 while staff face cuts in every department including catering and portering.<\/p>\n Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley(Image: Andrew Neil)<\/p>\n Meanwhile, bank shifts where NHS or agency workers help provide cover for short-handed wards are being capped and often not released where needed. The whistleblower said: \u201cThe RAH<\/a> has absolutely dangerous staffing levels in nursing, whether that\u2019s staff nurses or healthcare support workers (HSCWs). We are also losing beds in cardiology for a day clinic while the west of Scotland has one of the highest rates for heart disease.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of the wards are running if they\u2019re lucky with two HCSWs and between two to three nurses. They need to recruit more staff and bank nurses are not being deployed because of financial pressures. This needs addressing as soon as possible as I\u2019m sure it\u2019s the same across the health board<\/a> but no one seems to be doing anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Another source told the Sunday Mail: \u201cWard managers have got tight budgets which they can\u2019t go over and if they have to work short, that\u2019s what they\u2019ll do. You can\u2019t compromise patient care or the staff and they have a duty of care towards the staff. They\u2019re taking the rip, it\u2019s a scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n Labour\u2019s<\/a> Jackie Baillie said: \u201cThese reports from the Royal Alexandra Hospital are deeply concerning.<\/p>\n \u201cOctober has just finished and as we head into the winter months, staff are reportedly being pushed to breaking point, with serious questions about whether wards have enough nurses to keep patients safe as winter pressures mount. Patients and staff must not pay the price for budget cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cNHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde must urgently explain what is happening to staffing and bed capacity and ensure services have the resources they need to cope this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n We have seen minutes from an August meeting of the Clyde sector of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in which health board chiefs warn of an expected \u00a310million overspend in the division by year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n A report on finance said the division was \u201capproximately \u00a33.5million overspent at the end of July against a \u00a37.9million savings target and a year-to-date shortfall of \u00a32.5million\u201d with \u201cweekly nursing controls\u201d in an effort to address high staffing costs.<\/p>\n Labour\u2019s Jackie Baillie(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n Others in the meeting \u201craised concerns that staffing levels at receiving and surgical wards were reportedly being reduced at night and weekends because of savings\u201d despite \u201cconsistently high patient numbers\u201d.<\/p>\n It comes amid widespread fears across the NHS of a horrendous winter amid cuts, increased demand and overworked staff with high rates of sickness. In emergency wards, latest data shows only about six in 10 patients being treated within four hours, with thousands of Scots every week facing punishing waits of eight hours or longer.<\/p>\n Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: \u201cThese findings are deeply concerning and show staff are working against a winter ticking timebomb at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cLives are being put at risk, staff are under intolerable strain, and patients are bearing the brunt of the crisis that is continuing to unfold at the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n Lib Dem MSP Adam Harley said: \u201cAcross the country, NHS staff worry that they are dangerously understaffed. Scottish Liberal Democrats previously revealed that they were formally recording staff shortages almost 100 times a week. Under the SNP this situation has only got worse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Health Secretary needs to give our hard-working NHS staff the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.\u201d NHS GCC last month warned the public to stay away from A&E for minor injuries or illnesses that are not \u201clife or limb-threatening\u201d in a desperate effort to ease demand.<\/p>\n Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!<\/p>\n Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.<\/p>\n You’ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.<\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.<\/p>\n All you have to do is click here<\/a>, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in!<\/p>\n We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. 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