{"id":95769,"date":"2025-08-27T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/95769\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T07:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T07:00:09","slug":"aberdeen-royal-infirmary-staff-warn-patients-treated-in-corridors-as-pressures-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/95769\/","title":{"rendered":"Aberdeen Royal Infirmary staff warn patients treated in corridors as pressures mount"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staff at Scotland\u2019s busiest emergency department in the North East say they are being forced to treat patients in back rooms and corridors because there is nowhere else to put them.<\/p>\n

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary\u2019s A&E is operating at more than 110% capacity on average and has some of the worst waiting times in the country.<\/p>\n

The latest figures show only 39% of patients were seen, treated and admitted or discharged within the four-hour target \u2013 the lowest in Scotland that week. More than 300 people waited over eight hours and 88 were left for more than 12 hours.<\/p>\n

Dr Innes Crawford, an A&E consultant at the ARI, said: \u201cGo back to Covid times when we were getting clapped on the streets to now, where some staff get booed going into waiting rooms because they\u2019re waiting so long to get assessed.<\/p>\n

\"DrSTV NewsDr Innes Crawford, an A&E consultan at the ARI. STV News<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat people don\u2019t see is the 20 or 30 folk we have in the waiting room as well as the ambulance that are stacking. We have patients waiting for beds to go in the hospital and we have patients waiting along corridors to get seen and accessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can only see so many folk at a time and equally if there are no patients flowing into the hospital then it\u2019s really challenging to get new ones into bays. We\u2019re trying to see patients in back rooms and corridors because that\u2019s the only space we have to see folk.\u201d<\/p>\n

NHS Grampian has the lowest number of acute hospital beds per head of population in Scotland. On top of that, around 190 patients who are well enough to be discharged remain in hospital each day because there is nowhere else for them to go.<\/p>\n

Dr Catharina Hartman, consultant in emergency medicine, said: \u201cWhen you\u2019re stuck in a system that feels like we\u2019re constantly under severe pressure and unable to make changes to that system that just wears people down which just drives down that sense of disillusionment and helplessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenges are also being driven by an ageing population and patients arriving more unwell after struggling to access care during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Catriona Robbins, chief nurse, said: \u201cThe level of activity hasn\u2019t lessened since Covid. We\u2019re seeing patients presenting who are maybe more unwell because they weren\u2019t able to access care during Covid \u2013 that\u2019s definitely a thing that\u2019s happened since.<\/p>\n

\"ChiefSTV NewsChief nurse Catriona Robbins. STV News<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ageing population is growing and that\u2019s having an impact on the level and number of patients that come through our departments daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the hospital, an \u201coverspill\u201d area with eight bays has been set up for patients who have been seen and treated but are waiting for a ward.<\/p>\n

Patient Bob Beetie told STV News: \u201cIt was good because I never had to wait in ambulance, and I got straight in. I\u2019ve gotten a good bed and they will be putting me up to the ward shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PatientSTV NewsPatient Bob Beetie. STV News<\/p>\n

Outside A&E, ambulance stacking has become common. The hospital has some of the longest turnaround times in the country. The Scottish Ambulance Service has described NHS Grampian as the highest risk to its service.<\/p>\n

Dr Stephen Friar, portfolio medical director for medicine and unscheduled care at the ARI, said: \u201cIdeally, we wouldn\u2019t have an overspill area, ideally, we would be able to move patients through the hospital, but at the moment we don\u2019t have that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to become more efficient and we need to become better at our discharge processes. If we can do that, overspill doesn\u2019t need to exist.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s one of the things we have put in place, and this is one of the things we\u2019re doing to keep patients as safe as possible and make sure they\u2019re getting the care they need, when they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside the pressures on the ground, NHS Grampian faces a financial squeeze. The board must save more than \u00a362m this year, despite already being one of the lowest funded in Scotland per head of population.<\/p>\n

Health secretary Neil Gray said the government remains focused on supporting staff and improving patient care.<\/p>\n

He told STV News: \u201cI\u2019ve been able to see for myself on visits to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary the pressure they are under.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a wider issue across the whole system that needs to be addressed and that\u2019s why we\u2019ll be working \u2013 not just with NHS Grampian \u2013 but across the whole system to ensure the unscheduled care pathway \u2013 across the ambulance service, general practice and social care \u2013 moves to a more sustainable footing.\u201d<\/p>\n

STV News is now on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

Get all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n

Follow STV News <\/a>Follow STV News on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n

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