Cole-Hamilton: Untold pressure on critical care services

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that critical care services are facing ‘untold pressure’ under SNP mismanagement after a new report laid bare the challenges facing intensive care and high dependency units.

The Public Health Scotland and Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group’s report highlights the state of critical care services in Scotland’s NHS during 2023. These services refer to specialist hospital wards (Intensive Care Units and High Dependency Units) for the most severely ill or injured patients.

The report found that in these services during 2023:

• 62% of discharges were delayed in ICU, while 63% of patients in HDUs were delayed for more than 4 hours.
• Excess costs resulting from delayed discharges in ICUs and combined units are estimated to be almost £15 million, however they could be as much as nearly £19 million.
• 14 out of 15 HDUs and 5 out of 22 ICUs missed at least one of their Minimum Standards and Quality Indicators, primarily as a result of staffing challenges.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Under the SNP, Scotland’s critical care services face untold pressure.

“When so many patients cannot leave these units when they are well enough to do so, it creates blockages that radiate across the health system, from excruciating A&E waits to dangerous ambulance delays. It’s also costing our NHS millions.

“You cannot fault the goodwill and dedication on the part of NHS staff, but this SNP government have failed to give them the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have positive and practical plans to fix our NHS. We would bring forward a new strategy to retain staff and tackle burnout and scrap the billion-pound takeover of social care so that it can be spent on community staff and services that enable people to leave hospital.”