22 September 2021

In common with health boards across Scotland, NHS Borders continues to experience severe pressure on services. 

Our Emergency Department (ED) has been exceptionally busy, with many patients having to wait for longer periods than we would want them to.

 High patient activity coming into the hospital and increased staffing pressures across all of Health and Social Care has translated into bed pressures inside the Borders General Hospital. This has resulted in long waits for admission for a number of patients.

If you attend ED please be prepared to wait. You may even be asked to wait in your car, if able. Please have patience with our staff as they will see you as soon as possible. 

We are also caring for patients with Covid-19 in our hospitals. Because Covid-19 is so infectious these patients need to be cared for in separate wards which means there are less beds available for other patients; another pressure that we are dealing with. 

There are several things that you can do to help us ease this pressure:

 If you are unwell seek the right care in the right place. Remember that our ED is for life-threatening emergencies such as suspected heart attack or stroke, severe breathing difficulties, severe bleeding and severe injury. In some cases we continue to experience people attending the ED who do not need specialist emergency care and we urge people to please use the experts in your community, such as your community pharmacist, dentist and GP, who will be able to advise you on the right care for you

  • If you have an urgent health problem, that is not life threatening, such as suspected broken limbs or minor head injuries, contact NHS 24 on 111
    • NHS 24 will assess you by telephone and refer you to the right care at the right place
    • Increased demand may mean that you have to wait on hold for some time. However this will be more convenient and comfortable for you than waiting in our waiting areas
    • If you need to be assessed in person NHS 24 will organise for a member of our team to call you to arrange an appointment for you locally
    • By accessing care this way you will be referred to the right care in the right place, and if appropriate, given an appointment slot instead of potential long waits in our waiting area
  • If you have a loved one in hospital and they are due to be discharged please help us by being ready and available to collect them. This makes a huge difference for us, and means that we can keep the flow through our hospitals moving
  • Practice safe behaviours such as wearing face coverings in public indoor settings, wash hands regularly and keep rooms well ventilated
  • Get both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and your booster dose if you are eligible
  • Keep testing twice a week using lateral flow tests when you are well
  • Self-Isolate and seek a PCR test if you are unwell

Gareth Clinkscale, Director of Acute Services at NHS Borders said: 

“We recognise that there has been unprecedented demand for healthcare services which unfortunately has meant that many patients have had to wait longer than we would have wished. Our teams clinically prioritise patients so that those sickest are seen first. We know that some people have not been seeking the help they need based on their symptoms for a variety of reasons. People are therefore arriving at our ED more deconditioned than they were before the pandemic. This means that we are seeing increased length of stays in hospital. This can quickly affect our bed capacity which can result in some people waiting longer to be admitted.

“Whilst we want to see everyone who needs us as soon as possible, we unfortunately cannot see everyone at once. This is why it is really important that you seek the right care in the right place. This is not only quicker for you but it also makes sure that our specialists are available to treat those most in need. 

“We must also recognise that our staff are human too – there is only so much that we can do at once which is why things can take time. Our staff have been under exceptional pressure for over 18 months now and continue to face significant challenges. Despite this, they still deliver the most timely and best quality care that they can. I would like to take this opportunity to again thank all of our staff and colleagues across health and social care. You have shown the utmost commitment and compassion for a prolonged time and still deliver the best quality of care possible to those who need you the most.”