Glasgow Hospital Doctors’ ‘Major Incident’ Request Denied Amid “Unsafe” Conditions

Senior medical professionals at a Glasgow hospital sought the declaration of a ‘major incident’ this week, a request that was subsequently turned down, according to information obtained by BBC Scotland News. On Monday evening, emergency medicine consultants characterized the situation at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) as “grossly” unsafe, noting a lack of capacity for admitting new patients. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde stated that it possesses and activated a “robust system” designed to manage increased demands. The previous week, NHS Grampian announced a ‘critical incident’ due to the full capacity of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. A critical incident signifies service disruptions locally that could endanger patients and staff. Conversely, a major incident involves a spectrum of severe repercussions posing a significant threat to community health, limiting the response capability of emergency personnel. Records reviewed by BBC Scotland News indicated that the entire Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) site in Glasgow was “completely overwhelmed” on Monday evening. According to the emergency medicine consultants, insufficient capacity in the accident and emergency department resulted in one patient with a fractured hip waiting nearly six hours inside an ambulance. Concurrently, five ambulances were en route, with an additional 19 anticipated to arrive at the hospital. The document indicates that Jane Grant, chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, participated in discussions regarding the potential declaration of a major incident, though it is understood she rejected the proposal. The health board asserts that the situation was resolved without the chief executive’s direct involvement. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reported that all its services are experiencing “considerable pressure,” with the onset of winter introducing further difficulties. The hospital’s board issued a statement, saying: “The A&E department at the QEUH has experienced particular pressures in recent days, and we would like to apologise to anyone who had to wait longer than they would have expected.” “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has in place a robust system of escalation policies to help mitigate additional pressures, and these were implemented yesterday.” “The possibility of declaring a major incident was raised during a discussion around pressures on the department and hospital capacity, but given the mitigations that had been put in place that discussion was taken no further.” A major incident pertaining to health is characterized as any event posing a grave threat to community well-being. The Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) define it as: “An event or situation with a range of serious consequences that require special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder.” Such an incident typically entails service disruption and necessitates the activation of special protocols by various agencies, including hospitals, ambulance services, and primary care trusts. Hospitals are mandated to possess contingency plans for a declared major incident, which could involve actions like canceling non-urgent procedures or rerouting ambulances. Health boards also have the authority to declare business continuity incidents and critical incidents. The previous week, NHS Grampian reported taking the “significant step” of declaring a critical board incident, citing persistent and ongoing demands on Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI). While patients needing immediate life-saving treatment continued to be managed at ARI, others were redirected to hospitals in Dundee and Elgin when considered “clinically appropriate.” Additionally, certain elective procedures and appointments were deferred. Following the critical incident, Health Secretary Neil Gray affirmed that “patient safety is paramount.” He further stated: “This type of sustained pressure that services are facing is not unique to Scotland, similar challenges are being felt across the UK.“ He also noted: “While Scotland continues to have the best performing core A&E departments in the UK, performance is not of the standard we all expect.” Scottish hospitals have experienced increasing pressures over recent years. An Audit Scotland review concluded that a fundamental shift in the delivery of NHS services in Scotland is “urgently needed” to address escalating demand. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not accountable for the content of external sites. Details on their approach to external linking are provided.