Scotland’s hospital watchdog was forced to publish documents relating to an NHS Tayside inspection.
But the draft report into acute care for older people at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital remains under wraps, despite an outcry about its contents.
Two 20-page responses from the health board contest findings by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) inspectors, mainly focusing on the allegations 35 patients were left on trolleys and wheelchairs in corridors.
NHS Tayside did not ask for the number to be withdrawn but instead contested patients were receiving treatment and assessments in a legitimate part of the assessment area.
A letter from consultants concedes the official term for those left in beds is a “corridor wait” and admits two people were in such a situation for more than six hours before they were given a bed.
One part of the letter says: “We regret that there was a delay in the reconfiguration of beds to create capacity for urgent care and are grateful to (HIS) for highlighting this as it is a difficult balancing act for NHS Tayside (and all boards) to manage urgent and elective beds effectively given tight elective targets and restricted finances.”
NHS Tayside chairman Sandy Watson last night said he was “pleased” with the publication of the documents.
He added: “This is really important as the public need to know, and have confidence in, what will happen to them if they have to attend the AMU (Acute Medical Unit) at Ninewells.
“The draft report stated there were 35 patients waiting on trolleys and in wheelchairs in a corridor for several hours.
“The 35 patients had, in fact, been admitted over the course of the day and into the next day and were not on trolleys in a corridor but undergoing assessments in the middle of the ward.”
He added: “We believe that the publication of these documents today will reassure our patients and their families that all our staff are committed to providing a safe and caring environment for our patients and I would like to say on behalf of Tayside NHS Board that we appreciate their hard work and dedication, sometimes in challenging circumstances.”
Health Secretary Alex Neil called for the documents to be published during a topical questions session in Holyrood earlier this week.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As the health secretary said on Tuesday, the publication of these documents will encourage transparency around the inspection process, and demonstrate that both HIS and the Scottish Government have been entirely open about the issues arising from this report.”
Joe FitzPatrick MSP said: “Ninewells is a good quality teaching hospital with very hard-working staff and it is important that local people continue to have confidence in it.
“That is why it was right that these reports were published today so that people can see for themselves why clinicians and NHS Tayside felt so strongly that the draft inspection report from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) was not accurate in a number of key areas”
Shona Robinson MSP said: “It is important that today everyone is able to see why NHS Tayside had such strong concerns about the inspections report into older peoples services at Ninewells hospital.
“The letter from senior clinicians and the error report contain a number of critical corrections to the original Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) report.
“These concerns were not well handled by HIS and they must learn lessons and now they must make the necessary changes to their inspection processes. Independent inspections are a very important part of the public reassurance process so that patients and their families can have confidence that the services they receive in our NHS are being monitored properly.
“It is, therefore, important that HIS act now to ensure that process is reliable and robust in every inspection they carry out.”