A concerned son has told how his elderly mum, 88, was left on a trolley in a corridor at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for 17 hours before receiving treatment.
He said the family followed correct guidance from the health organisation and phoned NHS 24 to get triaged before attending A&E. NHS 24 advised him an ambulance was necessary but it would be a two-hour wait.
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He told how his mum arrived at the hospital and due to a backlog of patiences was put on a trolley in the corridor while waiting a further 17 hours to see a doctor.
Medics told her she was suffering from an infection classed as an 'emergency situation' but despite this still faced an excruciating wait for treatment.
The son, who prefers to remain anonymous, expressed his concerns to Edinburgh Live and the fear of losing his mum if she had not been seen by medics in time.
He said: "My mum took ill on Sunday night. We phoned NHS24 and there was then a two hour wait for an ambulance that arrived around 1am Monday and took her in right away.
"The doctor had assessed her and said they were arranging a bed so I left the hospital at 3am. By the time I came back at 3pm (when I took the photo), she was still on the trolley. The waiting room was pandemonium, literally standing room only.
"The part where I took the photo was in section C of the emergency department and was the quietest but I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t taking a photo which identified anyone.
"Sections A and B of the emergency department were just full to the gunnels with patients and every spare inch of wall had a trolley and patient parked up, as well as all the pods which were full.
"My mum was eventually given a bed by 6pm which meant she’d been on a trolley in the corridor for 17 hours. She’s 88 years old."
He continued: "I think one of the main factors is that people can’t get to see their GPs so they are pitching up at A&E and the poor staff at the hospitals are having to deal with this.
"I think there’s also a fear from the hospitals that elderly patients will take up beds. We got a phone call asking if we could take my mum back to her house at one point and they were going to arrange for a team to visit her twice a day to administer medication.
"With no social car package, it's totally unacceptable. The lack of funding has meant that there’s a real stand-off between the hospitals wanting to avoid bed-blocking and social services trying to protect their budgets and resources.
"The convalescence beds and hospitals that used to exist in Edinburgh just aren’t there anymore. Most of the hospitals that would cater for patient recovery have been demolished with luxury flats being built on top of the land."
Finally he added: "We desperately need a government that will invest in the NHS but with the current state of the Tories and Labour there’s no sign of that coming in the future."
The Scottish Government has previously accepted that long waits for patients in A&E are never acceptable.
Officials says the pandemic as well as discharge times are impacting the pressure being placed on A&E departments and that they are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in trying to rectify the situation this winter.
A government spokesperson said: “Excessively long waits are never acceptable and we are sorry to hear that this patient’s experience fell short of what everyone should expect.
“A&E departments continue to experience significant pressure and, in common with healthcare systems in the UK and globally, the pandemic is still impacting services. Recovery will not happen overnight and we are working to reduce system pressure as we enter what will be an extremely challenging winter period.
“We are supporting services through our £600 million winter plan which will see us recruit 1,000 new NHS staff, including up to 750 frontline nurses from overseas.
"Our £50 million Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative looks to drive down A&E waits by offering alternatives to hospitals, such as Hospital at Home; directing people to more appropriate urgent care settings and scheduling urgent appointments to avoid long waits."
“A&E pressures are being driven by delays in discharge elsewhere in our hospitals. That’s why a key focus of our winter plan is on social care and actions to encourage integration authorities to help ease delays.”
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Jacquie Campbell, Chief Officer, Acute Services, NHS Lothian told Edinburgh Live last week of the pressures A&E is facing.
She said: “Our services are experiencing unprecedented and prolonged levels of demand which is causing real challenges for both acute and community care. We apologise to our patients who have been affected and experienced long waits.
“Our teams are working tirelessly to ensure that we can continue to prioritise the most clinically urgent patients by managing our resources and staff to improve flexibility and support patient flow.
“To ensure that we can continue to prioritise the most clinically urgent patients, everyone has a part to play. If you think you need to visit A&E, but it's not life threatening, or you think you need to visit a Minor Injury Unit, call NHS 24 on 111 first, day or night and you will be directed to the right care in the right place.
“It is important too to remember that there is self-care information on NHS Inform, and local pharmacies, GPs or dental practices or opticians might be the most appropriate route to treatment and care. If it is an emergency always call 999 or go to your local A&E.”
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