'People are dying': 'Extraordinary' surge in flu hospitalisations as emergency departments hit 400% capacity

Health chiefs have warned Scottish accident-and-emergency departments have hit nearly four times their capacity amid a surge in flu hospitalisations that has been described as “extraordinary”.

The warning was issued as Public Health Scotland figures showed there were a record 1,500 flu-related hospital admissions last week. The total surpassed the previous peak of 1,400 cases set in the 2022/23 winter.

Health Secretary Neil Gray conceded Scotland had been “hit hard” by an “extraordinary” winter flu outbreak, as he was told “people are dying” because of a crisis in the NHS.

The figures were released as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) described the health service north of the Border as being “in the depth of a winter crisis”.

Dr Fiona Hunter, vice-chair of RCEM Scotland, said: “The system was already under extreme pressure and this huge flu surge and cold spell are likely to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. But it cannot – and must not - be blamed as the sole cause of the crisis we are currently experiencing.

“My colleagues are working flat out in very difficult conditions with some departments nearing 400 per cent capacity - four times as many patients as there are cubicle spaces for. We are running on hard work and good will, and our patients are receiving unacceptable, undignified and unsafe care in corridors and in the back of ambulances.

“The main issue is that we can’t move our patients who desperately need admission to a hospital bed in to wards or high dependency units. These wards have the highest level ever known of patients who are ready to be discharged, but have no available social support to allow them to do so.

“We are predictably gridlocked, in the depth of a winter crisis, and our patients and staff are the ones suffering.”

Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman and a working NHS GP, said flu vaccinations had fallen by a quarter since last winter.

1,500 Scots were hospitalised with flu last week. | Royalty Free/Corbis

As of December 15, 1.2 million adult flu vaccines had been administered.

Dr Gulhane criticised the Government’s flu vaccination programme and said improvements need to be made to the NHS 24 service.

He said: “Flu is not simply a cold, it is a serious and potentially fatal illness. If you are in a high-risk group, I urge you to get your vaccination.

“The Cabinet secretary boasted of the number of vaccines, but this is a 25 per cent reduction in the number of vaccinations delivered last year.”

Dr Gulhane said people were waiting more than four hours for a response when calling NHS 24 over the festive period. He claimed 100,000 calls had been abandoned because the wait was too long.

Delivering a statement on Tuesday at Holyrood, Mr Gray said it was “clear” the health service was facing “peak winter demand” as he urged all those who were eligible to get the vaccine.

“There is no doubt Scotland has been hit hard by flu this winter,” he said.

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“Whilst we did plan for seeing increases in flu over the winter, the very high levels we are experiencing puts inevitable additional strain on the system.

“The latest data from Public Health Scotland shows that the incidence of influenza in the community in Scotland has continued to increase in the latest week, although the rate of increase has slowed.

Health Secretary Neil Gray. | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

“We have seen the impact of flu in our hospitals, where we have seen over 1,500 influenza-related hospital admissions in the latest week, surpassing the peak of around 1,400 in the winter of 2022/23.”

Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP. | The Scotsman

Mr Gray spoke of his “regret that anyone seeking care has to wait longer than necessary to receive it”, with the Health Secretary adding: “I have no doubt that this has happened over this difficult period.”

But Mr Gray added: “At this point, thanks to the robust preparation and the dedication and hard work of staff across the NHS and social care, our services continue to hold up well in the face of these additional pressures.”

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton claimed “people are dying” because of the crisis facing the health service. He said ambulances were having to queue up outside accident-and-emergency departments.

Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, also accused Mr Gray of making the statement as an attempt to “try to get ahead of the statistics on delayed discharges next week”.

Also known as bed blocking, Ms Baillie said there were 200,000 people stuck in hospital who could not leave because there was not an appropriate care package in place for them in the community.

Mr Gray ended his statement by thanking all those who were working in the health and social care sector over the festive period.

He said: “Winter tests every one of us - it tests individual people and families, and our healthcare systems. But this year, thanks to the incredible efforts of NHS staff and sure-handed planning, we are facing it with resilience and resolve.”