A Perthshire woman was refused treatment at a hospital despite bleeding heavily.
Margaret Watson, 73, of Rattray, fell on a loose slab outside Blairgowrie Cottage Hospital and cracked her head open at the end of August.
She required five stitches as a result of the fall. She is the second person to speak out angered at having been turned away from the hospital.
Margaret told The Courier she was instructed to go to Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI) for treatment as the minor injuries unit at the cottage hospital was closed.
However, she said staff at the Blairgowrie centre did not even offer a gauze to help slow the bleeding.
“I came down the steps on a loose slab and I cracked my head open.
“I had to get someone to take me to PRI. I was lucky to have had a neighbour who could take me.
“I had blood all over me – they was no way I could have taken a bus in that state. I didn’t have a gauze or anything so there was blood all over my neighbour’s car.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership – which oversees the Blairgowrie hospital – said: “We would like to apologise for any distress caused to this patient.
“The Minor Injury and Illness Unit at Blairgowrie Community Hospital is currently open for appointments only which can be arranged via your GP in hours and through NHS 24 on 111 out of hours.
“These restrictions are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the risk to members of the public and a walk-in service is therefore not possible at the moment.”
However, Margaret praised the staff at PRI who treated her on arrival, saying she was seen with no issues.
She said: “The staff at PRI – I can’t fault them. PRI were very good.
“I was seen straight away and they stitched me up.”
Margaret has since expressed concerns for others in the area who may not be able to call someone in a similar situation.
“There are a lot of elderly people in the area and they might not have someone they can call. Even I don’t have immediate family nearby.”
Following the fall of Avril Bright, 66, Margaret says she does not wish a similar thing to happen to anyone else.
