NHS Grampian introduce rapid release scheme to tackle ambulance stacking at ARI

NHS Grampian is implementing a new rapid release scheme aimed at reducing ambulance waits outside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

In an update to board members on Thursday, Chief Executive Adam Coldwells explained a significant amount of work is being carried out to reduce ambulance queuing outside the hospital but the strategy would not be a "quick fix".

In recent months, there has been several reported incidents of ambulances stacked outside ARI's emergency department.

Just last month, the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) confirmed some of its paramedic crews were stuck outside ARI and experiencing waits "in excess of five hours".

The new rapid response scheme will be targeted at releasing ambulances more promptly when a patient is of priority access to the hospital.

Mr Coldwells explained the plan focuses on fixing the whole pathway: "Anybody that has had to wait in an ambulance outside any hospital is clearly not what anyone wants.

"We are doing some work around the whole unscheduled care pathway - how people arrive at the hospital, how they then move into the hospital and how they move through the hospital.

"The improvement across the whole pathway of care is really how we get the fix that we need so that people have a smooth pathway of care through every bit of their journey and every transition through different departments.

"In terms of the rapid release scheme, this is a joint bit of work with the Scottish Ambulance Service that when the patient who is a priority of access to the hospital, they work together -the two teams, the emergency department team and Scottish Ambulance team - to prioritise an ambulance being released so they can go off to a community call to ensure that that priority is also met."

Mr Coldwells said they must be realistic about the time-scale and hopes the board will begin to see changes week on week over the coming months.

{{NEWS}}