London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Doctors ask health board to declare major incident

Doctors ask health board to declare major incident

A&E doctors have urged NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to declare a major incident amid "grave concerns" over patient safety, the BBC understands.

Staff working at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital said the A&E department continued to be overwhelmed.

NHS GGC, which declined the move, said it was taking action to support staff.

It comes as both NHS Borders and NHS Grampian issued a plea to staff on leave to come into work, due to "extreme pressure" at hospitals.

With an increase in flu and respiratory viruses across Scotland, health boards have asked the public only to attend A&E if it is urgent or life threatening.

A series of messages seen by the BBC show a request from A&E consultants in Glasgow to declare a major incident was declined by NHS GGC on Thursday.

They asked for it to be called so extra resources could be diverted to the department.

A major incident is declared when the the health of the community is under serious threat.

Special measures would be put in place to assist the demand on the health service, such as extra resources to manage the volume of patients.

The messages said every space in the emergency department was occupied by patients waiting for a bed in the hospital, with no resuscitation beds and an eight-hour delay for ambulances offloading patients.

'Substandard care'

"We are now unable to provide safe critical care," read one of the messages.

Another read: "This is without any doubt the worst shift I've worked, and I've never been more convinced of real patient harm due to overcrowding and exit block."

Staff said a combination of issues meant critically-ill patients received "substandard care both clinically and from [a] humanitarian perspective".

The health board was later asked to reconsider calling a major incident, which it again declined.

A spokesperson for NHS GGC said: "We have an escalation policy that would allow us to declare any major incidents and we closely monitor the safety of our departments and patients at all times and keep this under close review.

"Our services, like the whole of Scotland, are facing major pressures including significant Covid, flu and norovirus cases and our staff are doing all they can to meet this demand."


NHS Lothian says the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and other hospitals are at full capacity

Both NHS Borders and NHS Grampian have put out an urgent call for any staff on leave to come into work.

NHS Grampian said it was facing "an extreme level of pressure" due to the number of acutely ill patients arriving at hospital and difficulties in discharging patients to the community .

NHS Borders also said its services were under "extreme pressure" and it had higher than normal staff sickness levels due to Covid and flu.

Meanwhile, NHS Lothian said the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, St John's Hospital, the Western General Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People were all at full capacity.

The health board said high levels of respiratory viruses in Lothian was heaping extra pressure on its hospitals

'Wear a mask'


Dona Milne, NHS Lothian director of public health, said: "We have now reached extraordinary levels of flu in Scotland that we haven't seen for many years.

"Although they can be mild infections for many, it can be extremely serious for some people causing them to require urgent hospital treatment.

"We are asking anyone who has cold or flu like symptoms to help limit the spread of infection. Stay at home if you feel unwell. And if you do have to go out, please wear a mask."

Scotland recorded its worst ever performance times at A&E in the week up to 18 December, with 55% of patients seen within the government target of 4 hours.

This is down 7.4% compared to the previous week.

At the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, just 45% of patients were seen within four hours.

A total 1,821 patients spent more than 12 hours in emergency departments across Scotland.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×