NHS Grampian Chief Executive Describes Operational Status as ‘Very Busy and Challenging’

NHS Grampian’s chief executive has stated that the health board remains in a “very busy and challenging” state as the winter season intensifies. Last month, the organization declared a critical incident, which resulted in the redirection of some ambulance patients to medical facilities beyond its region due to high demand at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI). This critical incident was subsequently concluded. Adam Coldwells, NHS Grampian’s chief executive, informed BBC Scotland News that the health board is pursuing additional beds to enhance its capacity. Mr. Coldwells made these remarks following a board meeting where winter planning was deliberated. He stated, “We ran the critical incident just for about 48 hours, which allowed us to create capacity in the hospital that allowed us to go back to business as usual.” He added, “We’ve made some improvements in the ambulance queuing, but we still experience ambulance queuing on a very regular basis.” Patients were rerouted to Dundee and Inverness when deemed clinically suitable, though Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) continued to provide life-saving treatment. He described the current situation as remaining “very busy, very challenging” for both staff and patients. He identified capacity as a critical concern that requires expansion. NHS Grampian is currently aiming to secure approximately 120 additional beds, 30 of which have already been implemented. He commented, “The critical incident was an issue we absolutely had to pick up, and of course I am very sorry to anyone that was affected by that, anyone that had to go out of area or had procedures postponed.” He further expressed, “My sincere apologies to them and I hope they can understand the position we were in.” He also acknowledged, “And to add to that, the efforts of our staff, everyone absolutely went the extra mile.” Health Secretary Neil Gray has expressed his desire to prevent additional critical incidents in emergency departments throughout this winter. Senior clinicians within NHS Grampian formally communicated their worries to management regarding an “intolerable” level of risk three months prior to the declaration of the critical incident. BBC Scotland News disclosed that a letter from the Medicine and Unscheduled Care (MUSC) leadership team in August had cautioned that insufficient measures were being taken to address the anticipated rise in demand during the winter period. NHS Grampian responded that the concerns outlined in the letter had been taken into account and that its teams were confronting “enormous challenges.” The critical incident resulted in the deferral of certain elective procedures and appointments, though cancer treatment and diagnostic tests were not affected. BMA Scotland stated it was “extremely concerned” by the timing of the incident, occurring before the peak winter season.