NHS watchdog to review patient safety at Glasgow A&E department

Patient safety in the Accident & Emergency unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow will be reviewed by an NHS watchdog.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) was first contacted by 29 A&E doctors in May 2023 warning that safety was being "seriously compromised".

HIS last month apologised for not fully investigating their concerns.

The review will consider leadership and operational issues and how they may have impacted on safety and care.

In the letter to HIS, the 29 consultants highlighted treatment delays, "inadequate" staffing levels and patients being left unassessed in unsuitable waiting areas.

They claimed this resulted in "preventable patient harm and sub-standard levels of basic patient care".

The doctors also said critical events had occurred including potentially avoidable deaths.

The consultants said repeated efforts to raise the issues with health board bosses "failed to elicit any significant response".

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Source: BBC News, 4 April 2024