Wednesday 25 September 2024
Responding to Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care Winter Preparedness Plan 2024-25, which was released this week (24 September 2024), RCEM’s Vice President for Scotland Dr John-Paul Loughrey said: “It is immensely disappointing that this plan does not place adequate emphasis on addressing what is causing the real harm in Emergency Departments right now, and what will only be exacerbated as the winter months approach. In hospitals across the country, people are waiting unacceptable long times to be seen in A&E, and we are now facing the stark prospect of another extremely challenging winter.
“This plan has focused on initiatives to reduce admissions to A&Es, which are welcome, but diverting people away from Emergency Departments will never address the true causes of extremely long waits, including those of 12 hours or more, which we know are linked to thousands of avoidable deaths a year.
“For those working in Emergency Care, witnessing these scenes is not only demoralising, it is heart-breaking. Our departments are frequently running over capacity, as evidenced by RCEM’s own research earlier in the year, which showed more than half of A&Es surveyed were treating people in corridors due to overcrowding. This practice is unsafe and unacceptable, but it has sadly become normalised.
“To address overcrowding, what is needed is a true whole system approach to speeding up – in a safe way – the movement of people through the hospital. This means adding sufficient beds, and improving social care capacity so people can leave hospital as soon as they are well enough. This will reduce the dreadful waiting times we are seeing. Only then will the people of Scotland receive the quality of care they need.
“The strain of working in an overstretched and under-resourced system is taking a heavy toll on our members, and today’s plan offers no reassurance that conditions will improve this winter – for our staff or for our patients.”
