NHS Tayside has assured Perth and Kinross residents “there are no plans to close Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI) Emergency Department”.
However, the health board has seen an increasing number of people attending PRI’s Emergency Dept and the majority are self-presenting, which is not advised.
NHS Tayside has stressed that anyone seeking urgent medical advice should first contact NHS 24 on 111 – or phone 999 if it is life-threatening – to ensure they get “the right treatment at the right time, in the right place”.
Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said he had received “numerous constituent queries on rumours that the NHS Tayside Board was seeking to either reduce the capacity of the ED or scrap it altogether”.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked NHS Tayside what the situation was on Wednesday, it responded by posting on Facebook to say there were “no plans” to close PRI’s Emergency Department.
Read More:
The statement issued by NHS Tayside said: “The people of Perth and Kinross and the wider population of Tayside can be assured that there are no plans to close Perth Royal Infirmary Emergency Department (PRI ED).
“As previously stated, there are no plans under consideration by Tayside NHS Board relating to PRI ED and its clinical and support teams continue to provide a critical component of NHS Tayside’s urgent and unscheduled care provision.
“NHS Tayside can confirm, however, that there has been an increase in patients attending ED in Perth, as well as in Dundee.
“Our teams are currently continuing to see a very high level of demand across our emergency departments and we need to make sure that they are able to see those with the greatest need rapidly. EDs are set up to see those people who have life-threatening conditions and who require immediate input within minutes, however, around 15 per cent of people who come to ED are redirected to other healthcare providers.
“This includes people with ongoing medical issues and people with conditions which are normally managed successfully within Primary Care settings.
“The majority of patients coming through the doors are self-presenting to the ED at PRI and this means that they are bypassing the opportunities for pre-arrival assessment from our doctors and consultants which can then signpost people to the most appropriate place/team for their condition.
“If someone needs advice about an urgent care need, their first point of contact should be NHS 24 on 111. This helps our teams to ensure patients are receiving the right treatment at the right time, in the right place, while allowing the Emergency Department to prioritise patients with emergency care needs.
“Most patients will be very familiar with alternative routes to access services which include NHS 24, GPs, community pharmacies, minor injury units, dentists and community optometrists.”
Supplied by Murdo Fraser MSP
Last week, Mr Fraser recently asked the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care Angela Constance about the position with PRI’s Emergency Department in the Scottish Parliament.
Ms Constance wrote to Mr Fraser this week to say she had received confirmation “the Board has no current plans to close the Emergency Department at PRI”.
She added: “NHS Tayside notes that PRI A&E Department is a vital element of its wider Urgent Care provision.
“NHS Tayside has confirmed it will continue to review all service delivery models aligned to the priorities of the national reform programme including improving access and reducing health inequalities.”
However Mr Fraser slammed the response as “disappointing”.
He said: “Stating that there are ‘no current plans’ doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. There are over 45,000 people living in Perth, and triple that number including the wider council area. This shouldn’t be a point of contention for the government.”