Moray hospital feels impact of ‘enormous pressure’ on NHS Grampian
Declaring a critical incident was “absolutely the right thing to do”, NHS Grampian’s chief executive has said, while welcoming the return of visiting at Elgin’s Dr Gray’s Hospital.
During an NHS Grampian Board Meeting yesterday, chief executive Adam Coldwells said staff had launched a “tremendous” response to a difficult situation.
The meeting heard that teams had ensured a “very challenging period” in November, during which ambulances were diverted to other health board areas.
However, Dr Coldwells emphasised that even during the critical incident those with life-threatening conditions were prioritised and treated locally.
During the same time period, Dr Gray’s faced an outbreak of diarrhea and vomiting which led to a ban on non-essential visiting.
He added: “We had a small number of elective procedures which were postponed and they have all been rescheduled now.”
The chief executive also offered “apologies to anyone that was directly affected” by disruption caused by the measures.
“The critical incident was absolutely the right thing to do and has allowed us to regain that sense of flow through the hospital that we needed at that period of time,” he added.
The meeting also saw Dr Coldwells discuss the norovirus outbreak which led to visiting restrictions at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
During yesterday’s meeting he welcomed the news that normal visiting had resumed, while admitting that norovirus was contributing to the severe pressure NHS Grampian faces this winter.
He added that occupancy rates at both Dr Gray’s and ARI had been “well above 100 per cent for both hospitals for a sustained period of time”, contributed by “extremely busy and challenging times in health and social care partnerships in our community settings as well”.
During her opening remarks, chairperson of the NHS Grampian Board Alison Evison praised the “herculean efforts” of health and care staff.
However, she also highlighted that the health board’s financial position was making things more difficult.
“Our financial position is becoming more challenging at a time when complexity of care and demand for services is increasing,” she said.
The chairperson also welcomed Councillor Kathleen Robertson to the meeting, as Moray Council’s new representative on the board, replacing Councillor Tracy Colyer.
