Scotland’s nurses are demanding the Scottish Government addresses “corridor care” in their Winter Preparedness Plan.
The Royal College of Nursing is calling for the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to directly address the patient safety and dignity concerns associated with corridor care through the Winter Preparedness Plan being presented to Parliament this afternoon.
The Daily Record has regularly highlighted cases of patients being treated in corridors outside wards as they wait for beds to become available as hospitals introduce continuous flow models in an attempt to reduce A & E waiting times.
The call comes as RCN Scotland Director Colin Poolman gives evidence to the Parliament’s health, social care and sport committee on the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, highlighting that the focus on the National Care Service will do nothing to address the current crisis in capacity or tackle workforce shortages.
Throughout the summer Scotland’s acute hospitals have continued to experience overcrowding, with the number of people waiting in excess of four hours in A&E during July at record levels.
Meanwhile, almost 2,000 people are ready to leave hospital but are waiting on packages of care and support in the community.
But RCN Scotland has raised concerns about the risks associated with continuous flow models models. In particular, the lack of recording and reporting of instances when patients are cared for in inappropriate areas such as corridors and treatment rooms or when additional beds are added to wards without the necessary staffing or equipment to ensure patient safety and dignity.
And the nurses’ union said the “unacceptable pressures on hospital services” are a direct result of the lack of capacity within community health and social care services.
Nurses asked to share their experiences told horror stories about makeshift care.
One staff nurse said: “Caring for an end of life patient (who subsequently passed away) in a six bedded busy medical ward, we just couldn’t facilitate a side room due to infection control issues.
“Meanwhile, management are still calling the ward to try and arrange transfers of additional patients to the ward – seventh patient in six bedded room.
“No curtains, no oxygen points, no sockets, no space. Two examples of no privacy nor dignity in care.”
Another staff nurse reported: “Patient sent to the ward and no available bedspace as no discharges evident yet.
“Patient sat on a porter’s chair for six hours, required oxygen and only had a portable oxygen tank to suffice – which eventually ran out.
“Patient and relative unhappy but ward staff had no control of said situation.
“It has become a regular practice to facilitate faster patient flow and outcome is undignified and not person-centred.”
And a senior charge nurse reported: “Caring for patients in corridors. Assessing people in relatives’ room and makeshift corners with screens in place.
“Knowing we can’t check patients’ skin or care for continence needs because we don’t have anywhere to do it – the endless daily cycle of this.
“Our reality every single day – no exception. The indignity and humiliation that our frail elderly population are subjected to every single day. We don’t meet patients’ basic needs.”
Colin Poolman, Director RCN Scotland commented: “Our members have expressed the impact of overcrowding on their patients and on their own wellbeing.
“There has been no let-up in the pressures staff have faced over summer, and patient care is being compromised daily.
“No patient deserves the indignity of corridor care. The Scottish Government must set out a plan that addresses the continued nursing workforce shortages across the NHS and social care and that requires the mandatory reporting of care in inappropriate areas to understand the scale of the pressures and how to best target resources to improve the safety and quality of care.”
And he added: “We cannot afford to wait for a National Care Service, action is needed now.
“Good care costs but missed care costs more.
“The Scottish Government must invest to get our health and social care system through this winter safely.”
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