NHS Tayside staff have slammed health chiefs amid claims services in the region have reached breaking point over increased winter demand.
One worker at Ninewells Hospital reported the medical floor had exceeded its capacity by “around 30 beds” on Thursday and said personnel from other areas had been asked to provide emergency cover.
The experienced staff nurse, who asked not to be named, said bosses had been scrambling for months to sign workers up to the ‘Nurse Bank’, a central system to establish cover for ward staffing.
“Things can only really carry on like that for so long – it was a crisis waiting to happen,” she said.
“We had a big influx of admissions from Wednesday and it really pushed things over the edge.
“The medical floor was around 30 beds over capacity and A&E was absolutely heaving with patients — I would say we had effectively reached ‘black alert’ level.”
The status, which is the NHS’s highest level of staffing alert in England and Wales, usually means bed capacity has been reached and patients could be turned away or asked to attend elsewhere.
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said the Nurse Bank has been “established for many years to provide flexible cover” and argued recruitment is carried out “all year round”.
However, another health worker confirmed staff had been contacted by text and phone this week to give their availability for additional cover and said the workload had become “horrendous”.
“They continue to pretend everything is okay but the truth is nurses are leaving in their droves,” she said.
Labour’s shadow health spokesperson, Anas Sarwar said it was “yet another example of our under-pressure, under resourced NHS”.
He added: “It should be particularly galling for Shona Robison as this is happening in her own backyard.”
North-east MSP Bill Bowman admitted the situation is “concerning”.
“The wellbeing of patients is paramount,” he said.
NHS Fife announced this week it will be joining Tayside in postponing all non-emergency operations amid warnings the health boards are under pressure like never before.
NHS Tayside’s chief operating officer Lorna Wiggin confirmed additional beds had been opened in some areas and said she was “extremely grateful” to staff who had agreed to work additional hours.
She added: “Despite additional pressure on services, our winter plans are working well and we are coping with the increase in patients accessing health services.”
