Concerns over 'unsafe staffing levels' and locked wards at Forth Valley Royal Hospital
Hospital wards in Falkirk have had to lock their doors to patients over safety concerns, it has emerged, as candidates vying to become the Falkirk area’s new MP clashed over local health services.
Scottish Labour’s new MP for Falkirk said he has concerns about the safety of patients and staff in Forth Valley Royal Hospital as a freedom of information request reveals “a worrying snapshot” of unsafe staffing levels.
Euan Stainbank, who has been a Falkirk councillor for the past two years, highlighted an FOI made by the Labour Party which revealed a record of adverse incidents that have taken place on NHS Forth Valley wards, where concerns about unsafe staffing levels were flagged by staff.
The incidents – which both occurred on December 25, 2023 – describe wards having to initiate ‘locked door policy’ due to ‘unsafe staffing levels’.
In a description of one of the events a staff member states: “The ward had to deplete its numbers on occasion to maintain safety in other wards due to the entire mental health unit being short staffed.
“This put both staff and patients at risk and caused a safety issue which in turn led to the locked door policy being enforced from approximately 6pm.
“During this duty, two patients were unsettled and made attempts to abscond the ward, this was made difficult to manage due to staffing. No therapeutic interventions were able to be carried out during this duty.”
Mr Stainbank, said: “I’m afraid that these two incidents are a worrying snapshot of the larger crisis happening in our NHS across Scotland at the moment.
“Dedicated NHS staff members are being overstretched and overworked and vulnerable patients are being left in unsafe situations.
“This is the reality of the SNP Government’s failure to provide our NHS with a proper workforce plan and a strategy to tackle delayed discharge.
“It is frankly laughable that the SNP claim to be the protectors of the NHS when the British Medical Association has just warned that our NHS in a permanent crisis.
“Scottish Labour will deliver a ten-year work force plan informed directly by a new National Clinical Council of healthcare professionals who will advise on service delivery, recruitment, and patient safety.”
Responding to the FOI, a spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “We carefully plan and monitor our staffing levels across all areas however, occasionally, particularly during the winter months, we can experience unexpected absences due to staff sickness.
“In these situations, everything possible is done to arrange cover and move staff to the areas with the highest needs.
“Since April 2024, we have implemented new national legislation designed to ensure appropriate staffing levels across health and care services and invested heavily in the recruitment of additional medical, nursing and AHP staff.
“We also encourage staff to report any concerns, including those relating to staffing levels, so that action can be taken to address these.”