QEUH day unit used for A&E overspill as waits hit record high
A patient says a unit for chemotherapy and transfusions at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is taking emergency admissions, as MSPs warn vulnerable people are being put at risk.
By The Daily Scot Staff ·
Vulnerable patients in Glasgow are being put at risk as A&E pressures spill over into other wards, MSPs have warned.
A patient told the Sunday Mail that the Medical Day Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital – which provides chemotherapy, infusions and blood transfusions – is being used to take emergency cases. She said immunocompromised patients were being mixed with people admitted with a range of illnesses, raising the risk of infection.
It comes after Public Health Scotland figures showed only 66.7% of A&E patients in Scotland were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours in August. That meant 50,747 patients waited longer than four hours – a new record, beating the previous high of 49,538 in December 2022. The Scottish Government's target is 95%.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said vulnerable patients should not be cared for in corridors because of overcrowding and called for urgent action on waiting times.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said the SNP had no credible plan to tackle record waits.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said hospitals across the country were very busy and that, during periods of high demand, inpatient care may be temporarily delivered in the Medical Day Unit, which is used for a variety of purposes.