NHS Grampian bosses warned about "intolerable" level of risk before critical incident declared
Some ambulance patients were diverted to other health boards last week
We're hearing NHS Grampian bosses were warned about an "intolerable" level of risk, months before a critical incident was declared.
A small number of ambulance patients were diverted to other health boards because of pressures on Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
And some elective procedures were postponed, however cancer treatment and diagnostic tests were not affected.
NHS Grampian says a face-to-face meeting with members of the Medicine and Unscheduled Care (MUSC) leadership team, who sent the letter back in August, was arranged to discuss the concerns and a written response was given.
Interim chief executive Adam Coldwells said: “I considered the points raised in this letter alongside the portfolio lead for medicine and unscheduled care.
“The portfolio lead met face-to-face with the team to discuss the concerns raised. A detailed written response was also provided.
“Continuous discussion with, and hearing the challenges of all our colleagues, is an integral part of both understanding the issues and finding the right solution."
"There are enormous challenges facing our teams, not only in medicine and unscheduled care, but in other parts of acute care, in community hospitals, and working out in the community itself.
“The past week has shown those challenges play out in real time. There is not a single solution to these difficulties.
“NHS Grampian has the lowest number of hospital beds per head of the population.
“Alongside this we are dealing with a significant volume of acutely ill patients, delayed discharges, capacity in community healthcare settings, and staffing pressures.
“This has a knock-on effect on everything throughout our system.
"We continue to look at ways to improve flow within the footprint across the whole of health and social care in Grampian. In addition, our colleagues in Scottish Government have committed to support that work as necessary.
"The hard work and dedication of our teams cannot be understated in such difficult times.”
NHS Grampian announced the critical incident on Thursday evening however it was stood down on Saturday afternoon.