Patients are regularly being left in the back of ambulances outside Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital due to the NHS winter crisis, it has been warned.
A Scottish Ambulance service worker told The Courier he has “never seen the situation worse” and said staff are struggling to meet response time targets.
He challenged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to visit the Fife hospital’s front entrance to see for herself just how worrying the crisis has become.
Ms Sturgeon held an emergency briefing on Monday morning in the wake of record A&E waiting times and numbers of calls to NHS24.
The SNP leader admitted hospitals across the country are almost completely full and said the NHS is enduring “the most difficult winter ever”.
In spite of the dire situation, she insisted the NHS remains sustainable and will be there for those who need treatment.
However, the ambulance service source said: “Nicola Sturgeon needs to come to the front entrance of A&E herself and see how bad this is.”
It comes as the chair of Scotland’s doctors’ BMA union warned the NHS cannot simply “struggle to survive from crisis to crisis”.
Dr Iain Kennedy warned a “long-term discussion” is needed to address the future of the health service north of the border.
‘Not sustainable’
He said: “Bed occupancy of 95% across our hospitals is just not sustainable in terms of providing safe and effective care.
“Many doctors remain to be convinced that the Scottish Government’s practical response matches up to the huge scale of the problems the NHS is facing.
“In particular, staffing shortages will only get worse as more staff burn out and dread going to work.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is due to make a statement in Holyrood on Tuesday as Ms Sturgeon announced more funding to help take patients out of hospitals.
Dr Kennedy said: “We have to have a long-term discussion about the future of our health service rather than just struggle to survive from crisis to crisis as staff endure perpetual pressures which in the past were reserved for the worst of winter.
“The sooner we get to grips with the big picture issues, the sooner we can get away from having to implement short-term measures in the hope of bolstering collapsing services.”
He added that extra beds for patients will do little to improve the crisis if staffing concerns are not addressed.
During the briefing, Ms Sturgeon said: “While the NHS faces exceptional pressure, it is important that NHS boards retain the ability to respond flexibly to local circumstances.
“The NHS is there for those who need it. I don’t believe the NHS is unsustainable in its current form.”
She also defended health chief Mr Yousaf and said he has the “toughest job” in government.
NHS Fife’s director of nursing Janette Keenan said last week: “We expected that this winter would be as challenging as we have ever faced.
“Unfortunately, that is reflected in the pressures we are seeing at present, despite the additional capacity we have created across the system.”