NHS Grampian A&E warning as falls increase during cold snap

The north-east of Scotland is in the grip of a cold spell, including in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire

A sharp rise in the number of people falling in icy conditions has had a "massive impact" on a Scottish health board's emergency departments, it has warned.

NHS Grampian said 84 patients were treated for falls on Thursday, with about 35% suffering a head injury.

Medics have encouraged people to seek advice before attending "extremely busy" A&E departments.

It comes as the first minister warned the NHS is facing "very acute demands".

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NHS Grampian said there had been a huge increase in slips, trips and falls patients compared to last week, when the temperatures largely remained above freezing.

There were 16 patients last Thursday, but 84 on Thursday this week.

A yellow weather warning of ice was issued for north and north-east Scotland from Thursday evening to Friday morning, with temperatures expected to rise above freezing this weekend.

Emergency department consultant Catharina Hartman urged people to stay home during icy conditions.

"The winter weather is having a huge impact on our hospitals," she said.

"We see more falls when the weather is like this, and they are worse than the typical presentations. That has consequences for the length of time that we need to spend with patients."

Nicola Sturgeon says the NHS is facing "very acute demands"

The medic warned the injuries can be life-threatening, particularly for older and more frail patients.

"It has a massive impact on our emergency departments," she said. "We are extremely busy with patients coming in all the time."

The patients who suffered falls were all seen in emergency departments at the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin.

The NHS has been under severe pressure throughout the winter, with waiting times at record levels, along with delayed discharges.

However, A&E waiting times improved slightly this week, with 57.3% of attendances waiting more than four hours in the week up to January 8, compared with 56% the week before.

'Extremely challenging winter'

The Scottish government has announced several measures to ease the pressure, including urging health boards to reassess discharge plans and buy up care home beds to tackle delayed discharges.

Nicola Sturgeon, speaking after senior cabinet members attended the Scottish government's resilience committee (SGoRR), said: "There is no doubt that we are still seeing very acute demands across most of the health and social care system.

"That means it remains important to continue to pursue every avenue to improve the flow of patients through hospitals, and to ensure people are able to safely leave when they are fit for discharge.

"The measures discussed at SGoRR today are all helping to address these issues, but we remain indebted to the incredible efforts of staff right across the health and social care system for their commitment and hard work during this extremely challenging winter."