An accident and emergency doctor has said he has been forced to see some patients outside his hospital’s front door due to pressures.
David Caesar wrote in The Times that there is a sense of “impending doom” among doctors as Hogmanay approaches.
His comments come as NHS A&E waiting times performance hit another record low, with just 55% of patients seen and subsequently admitted, discharged or transferred within the four-hour target in the week to December 18.
In the same week, a record 1,821 people waited longer than 12 hours in A&E – an increase of almost 700 from the previous week.
The number of people waiting more than eight hours increased by almost 1,500, from 3,045 to 4,536.
Dr Caesar said: “We are seeing patients anywhere we can: in corners and corridors, and occasionally the best place for a private discussion with a patient who is well enough is outside the emergency department’s front doors.
“I can talk to them in the calm, away from the crowd, and then often send them home.”
Writing about the situation seen in his hospital on Thursday, Dr Caesar said it started the day around 300% over capacity, with 45 patients still waiting for beds.
He added: “There is a sense of impending doom as the prospect of Hogmanay in the capital looms.”
In a bid to free up beds, NHS Lothian has again urged family and friends to take in patients who no longer require treatment and are waiting for a care package to be put in place.
The health board’s medical director, Tracey Gillies, said: “Many of our patients no longer require hospital treatment but can’t go home until an appropriate care package is in place or a care home placement becomes available.
“We are urging the families of these patients to please consider how they can help look after a loved one at home on a temporary basis.
“Our teams will be on hand to provide support and discuss their needs and will only allow patients to go home after a robust clinical assessment.”
Calum Campbell, the board’s chief executive, added there has been “unprecedented demand for some time”.
The comments come as Iain Kennedy, chairman of BMA Scotland, said the NHS cannot survive in its current form.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Wednesday, Dr Kennedy said: “There is no way that the NHS in Scotland can survive.
“In fact, many of my members are telling me that the NHS in Scotland has died already.
“It’s already broken in some parts of the country. So the time is now, we need the national conversation now, it cannot be delayed any further.”
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