'Significant pressure' on Borders General Hospital hits A&E waiting times
"Significant pressure" at Borders General Hospital is having an impact on accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times, according to the health board in charge.
This news comes as Scotland's A&E waiting time performance hit a record low for a third week running.
Performance against the four-hour waiting time target for A&E nationally fell to 75.1 per cent for the week ending August 22. In the previous week, 76 per cent of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within the target time and he figure stood at 76.5 per cent the week before.
In our region the figure for NHS Borders is 67.7 per cent - which is the third lowest in the nation - and for NHS Dumfries and Galloway it is 81.1 per cent, above the national average.
A spokesperson for NHS Borders said there had been a large number of patients admitted to A&E last week and that Covid-19 admissions had also had an impact.
They added: "Last week the Borders General Hospital was under significant pressure with large numbers attending our Emergency Department; many of whom were poorly and had to be admitted to our care. This meant that we could not move people through the hospital system as swiftly as we would like. We are also seeing an increase in patients with COVID-19 which is placing further pressure on our hospital services.
"We are continuing to implement improvement work to actively reduce Emergency Department waiting times. In the meantime we would ask the people of the Borders to help by only attending if you require emergency care for life-threatening emergencies. If you have a minor injury or urgent health problem which isn't life- threatening please call NHS 24 on 111 to be referred to the right care in the right place."
Scheduled routine operations at the hospital have been cancelled until next month and restrictions have also been placed on visitors there.
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The Scottish Government target is for 95 per cent of all A&E patients to wait no longer than four hours from arrival to admission, discharge or transfer. This target has not been met since July 2020.
In our region the figure for NHS Borders is 67.7 per cent - which is the third lowest in the nation - and for NHS Dumfries and Galloway it is 81.1 per cent.
Nationally, there were a total of 26,635 attendances in A&E units for the week ending August 22.
A total of 1,164 patients spent more than eight hours in an A&E department, while 268 spent more than 12 hours there.
Other statistics released by Public Health Scotland on Tuesday showed an increase in the number of patients waiting for key diagnostic tests such as endoscopy, a CT scan or an MRI scan.
This rose by 9.1 per cent between the end of March to the end of June to a total of 115,253 patients.
It means the total number of patients waiting for the key tests is 16.9 per cent higher than the same time last year.
Responding to the diagnostic figures, David Ferguson, of Cancer Research UK, said: "It's unacceptable that this target hasn't been met for 11 years now and it's clear action is long overdue.
"Last week's news that there's to be new investment in diagnostic services is welcome.
"A commitment to creating new radiographer training places will, in time, also be helpful.
"But this is little comfort to patients who are on the waiting list now. They need reassurances that their symptoms will be investigated as a priority.
"Those who are experiencing symptoms that could be cancer also need to have confidence that after visiting a GP their health concerns will be investigated in a timely manner."
Health Secretary Huma Yousaf said the coronavirus pandemic has inevitably hit A&E departments, while the Scottish Government has recently offered £12m to health boards for emergency care.
He said: "Scotland's core A&E departments have outperformed those in the rest of the UK for more than six years.
"Our NHS staff have faced unprecedented pressures over recent weeks.
"They work tirelessly and consistently to respond to the pandemic whilst continuing to provide vital treatment and optimal patient care.
"We are in daily contact with every board and are monitoring the situation closely.
"Hospitals are reporting increased levels of people attending A&E who are much sicker and require higher levels of care.
"Weekly performance is impacted due to a range of challenges including high attendances, staffing pressures due to isolation and annual leave and the continued requirement for infection control precautions that is affecting the time people need to spend in A&E."
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