Nurses have told how Scotland’s hospital wards have turned into a “hell on earth” due to soaring numbers of staff falling ill with Covid.
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Scotland’s biggest health board, has 749 staff absences with Covid as infection rates across the country spike.
Similar levels across Scotland would mean about 3000 NHS workers were off sick due to the virus.
The knock-on effect on remaining staff is enormous, with the average daily number of people in
Scotland’s hospitals with Covid sitting at 1148 in the past week – a 32 per cent rise on the previous week.
On at least three occasions within NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, a single nurse has been left in charge of an entire ward.
All three known incidents were in Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Gourock, one of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s sites.
Inverclyde Councillor Martin McCluskey, speaking at this week’s NHS GG&C board meeting, called for support for staff who were struggling to hold wards together due to the staffing crisis.
He said: “A lot of nurses and doctors are under unbearable pressure at times.
“Some staff members have described these circumstances as ‘hell on earth’ and I don’t think that is something any of us want to hear.”
McCluskey called for assurances that patient safety was not being compromised by the lack of staff.
He said: “We have significant levels of staff absence. It is increasing and there are a couple of examples that have come to my attention over the last couple of weeks.
“Staffing levels at Inverclyde Royal Hospital G North and G South – the health board confirmed there were three times when those wards were staffed by only one nurse and I would like some assurance that is not compromising patient safety.
“I want some assurance that there are contingencies in place to ensure that set of circumstances can’t happen again.”
The corona absences sparked concern from opposition MSPs last night.
Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “The NHS is being left short-staffed.
“Throughout Scotland, nurses and their trade unions are warning on a daily basis that patient safety is a critical problem.
“The Government is delaying implementation of the safe staffing legislation passed in 2019.
“They need to implement this as a matter or urgency to make sure there are enough nurses in the NHS so patients don’t suffer.”
Nurse director Angela Wallace confirmed to a NHS GG&C health board meeting that staffing issues were a Scotland-wide problem, and were due to increased absences.
Patient-facing staff must still test twice a week for coronavirus and must not attend work for a minimum of five full days if they test positive.
They can return only when they have had two consecutive negative lateral flow tests.
Greater Glasgow health board interim director of public health Emilia Crighton said: “The amount of staff that become unwell is going up but it is just a reflection of the community prevalence. Irrespective of how well people are, it still has an effect on how well we provide health care.”
Edwards admitted the numbers in hospital with the virus had led to the closure of 10 wards, costing 53 acute beds.
There are 600 patients with Covid in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Figures yesterday showed 848 new admissions in the past week throughout the country. The Scottish Government said they were working with health boards to improve staffing levels during the current corona crisis.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The pandemic has seen our NHS under the most
severe pressure in its 73-year existence.
“NHS staff have worked incredibly hard during the pandemic and they have our thanks for the care they continue to provide the people of Scotland.
“We are committed to looking after the wellbeing of our staff. In 2021-22, we have made £12million available to support the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce.
“This includes £8million from the NHS Recovery Plan and £4million as a result of winter pressures to provide support for staff wellbeing focusing on their physical and emotional needs.
“NHS Scotland staffing is at a record high level, following 10 consecutive years of growth, with overall staffing up by over 23 per cent since 2006.
“We’re determined to go further and we are working with boards to enhance NHS workforce levels, fill posts and create new roles, backed by our £1billion NHS Recovery Plan – which introduced a range of direct workforce investments and new measures to support health boards’ capacity for both domestic and international recruitment.”
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