Retired surgeon slams health chiefs over corridor care

A retired consultant claims north Wales health chiefs are in “complete denial” about placing A&E patients in the corridors and treatment rooms of hospital wards.

Jonathan Osborne FRCS, a former ear, nose, and throat surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd insisted bringing back community hospital beds would bust the backlog and bring an end to “corridor care”.

Mr Osborne has been heading up a Facebook campaign to restore community beds.

Last month Conwy County Council leader Julie Fallon accused health bosses of adopting a policy of placing patients on ward corridors.

In January Tehmeena Ajmal, the health board’s chief operating officer said reducing corridor care was the board’s “top operational goal”.

She acknowledged the board had “introduced a standard operating procedure (SOP) for transferring patients to hospital wards in exceptional and extreme circumstances only” but that, to date, it had yet to be enacted.

Mr Osborne claimed there was a culture of “chaos, incompetence, and denial” at the health board.

“The health board appears to be in complete denial,” he added.

The retired consultant continued: “Despite describing ‘improved’ partnerships with local authorities, both Denbighshire and Conwy County Councils have declared a ‘state of health emergency.

“A measure that would have the maximum impact in reducing the numbers of patients at risk in A&E corridors would be to stop closing community hospital beds and implement a programme to re-open and expand the number of them. There are currently community beds available at minimal capital cost at Penley near Wrexham, Tywyn, and shortly Abergele when orthopaedics moves to Llandudno.”

Policy

He went on to claim the board had introduced a policy called “accelerated boarding in extremis” which he described as placing patients in ward treatment rooms, day rooms, and relatives’ rooms to relieve the corridor waits in A&E.

The health board declined to respond to Mr Osborne’s claims.

Mr Osborne claimed: “They have issued a denial, stating that this policy would only be used in exceptional circumstances; the irony being that BCUHB is perpetually in exceptional circumstances, as it is perpetually in special measures – and will continue to be so, unless the group think of the health board and Welsh Government changes.

“With a health board seemingly incapable of solving the corridor care crisis, despite viable solutions being available, is it reasonable to assume that this disastrous ward overcrowding, with no extra staff, will be permanent?”