Responding to the Auditor General’s report on the state of Health and Social Care in Scotland Dr JP Loughrey, Royal College of Emergency Medicine Vice President for Scotland said: “We welcome this report which addresses many of our recent and ongoing concerns – particularly around a lack of long-term planning and poor Emergency Department performance.
“The Scottish government must do more to address capacity and demand pressures. Hospitals are dangerously overcrowded and do not have the space, staff, or resources to provide safe and timely care for the number of patients who need it.
“There needs to be long term strategies to maintain an adequate baseline in capacity and staffing, and deal with predictable surges in pressure.
“As we have seen time and time again across Scotland, there are simply not enough beds to meet demand and our hospitals are routinely almost fit to burst, with patients enduring long, undignified waits and demoralised staff forced to deliver treatment in inappropriate areas, such as corridors and car parks.
“We urge the government to move away from short-term firefighting towards long term fundamental change to #ResuscitateEmergencyCare in Scotland.”
