Coronavirus in Edinburgh: Patients urged not to avoid A&E if in need of urgent medical treatment

Half as many patients admitted to the department during the crisis

NUMBERS of Accident and Emergency patients seeking treatment at the Royal Infirmary have halved during the coronavirus crisis.

The A&E department has seen the number of inpatients drop by from about 350-400-a-day to 150-200.

And the message is clear for anyone finding themselves in need of A&E treatment over the coming weeks.

“The clue’s in the name, Accident & Emergency,” says site director Janice Alexander. “Hearts attacks, strokes, chest pains - we can still care for those patients sufficiently in A&E.”

And for anything less serious, the 111 helpline is still available, as is the new video-based minor injuries service from the Western General.

“The message from the hospital is if you need A&E, of course we are still here,” said Ms Alexander.

National Records of Scotland figures put the number deaths last week at 60 percent higher than the five-year average.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the consistent Scottish government message was for people to continue to use the NHS for other symptoms and conditions as they normally would.

It “reflects the fact that we have a concern that people might be less likely to come forward because they know that the health service is under pressure,” added the First Minister.

Clinical nursing manager Heidi Byrne casts her eyes around the near deserted A&E ward.

“It would normally be full in here,” she says.

“There’d be people with chest pains, suspected strokes and other injuries like if they’d fallen off their bikes or road traffic collisions - a bit of everything.

“It’s strange to have the department like this but it’s actually an opportunity to keep everything clean and tidy and to stock up. We’re normally busy in a different way.”