Virtual consultations with patients are being used to stop unnecessary trips to Scotland's A&Es.
Nurse Pauline Kerray uses the NHS Near Me video call system to chat to Derek White at his Uddingston home to determine if he needs to make the 13-mile trip to the QEUH emergency ward in personrecord numbers of people having faced long waitsIn a bid to reduce waiting times, a virtual A&E is being used for people who call NHS24 who might need emergency department treatment.
Nurse Pauline Kerray - who is 13 miles away from Derek in Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital - listens carefully and offers the 60-year-old advice which includes using painkillers, a hot water bottle and getting lots of rest. The real problem for emergency departments right across Scotland just now is what staff call "exit block".Last month, more than 3,500 people spent more than 12 hours in an emergency department. Compare that to April 2019 - the year before the Covid pandemic - and that figure was 301.Pressures on social care and more seriously ill patients requiring longer hospital stays are among the reasons we are seeing bottlenecks in emergency departments across the country.
For example, the video call team has referred patients with eye complaints to local opticians and patients with possible blood clots in their legs directly to the ambulatory care service, which aims to assess and treat patients without the need for an overnight stay. The Scottish government has a target of dealing with 95% of patients who come to an emergency department within four hours. But figures for April this year show the Scotland-wide rate was at 72.1% and for the QEUH it was just 46%.Pressures at A&E take their toll on staff and patients says Dr Alan Whitelaw, a consultant in emergency medicine at QEUH
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