Hospital Puts Patients Up in Hotel Due to Bed Shortage Officials at Royal Alexandra Accused of Wasting Taxpayers’ Money After Mix-Up

By STEWART PATERSON

THREE elderly patients were put up overnight in a hotel after they were told there were no beds available in a hospital.

The two men and one woman had made a 100-mile trip from Oban to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley for surgery but were informed they could not be admitted.

As it was too far to return home, they were taken by taxi to the nearby three-star Ramada Jarvis Hotel at GlasgowAirport. The hotel charges GBP80 a night for bed and breakfast, a charge which an opposition politician described as a needless waste of public cash.

Mary Scanlon, Conservative health spokeswoman, said: “It was a waste of taxpayers’ money. I do not think the hospital acted in the right manner.

“If they had no beds they should have notified the patients before they had set out from Oban.

“The money spent on putting these pensioners in a hotel for the night would have been better spent on frontline services.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “Due to exceptional bed pressures at the Royal Alexandra Hospital earlier this week three patients had to be accommodated at the Ramada Hotel overnight.

“The patients had travelled a significant distance and it was felt that it would be more appropriate to put the patients up in a hotel for the night in advance of their surgery rather than cancel their elective procedures.

“This was also a more costeffective option than cancelling the surgery and having the patients make a further long-distance journey at a later date.

“The patients have now had their surgery and are recovering well.”

One ward at the hospital is currently closed to admissions due to the winter vomiting bug.

However the health board spokeswoman said: “This was not a factor in the cases and will not result in any other patients being accommodated temporarily in hotels.”

Meanwhile, a ward in Glasgow has been closed following an outbreak of scabies among staff and patients.

Four staff members and one patient at the ward at Glasgow Royal Infirmary have been diagnosed with the contagious skin disease.

Treatment was started for those affected and those who came into close contact will also be offered treatment as a precaution.

Health officials said they were working to contain the infection and were investigating its source.

A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “All necessary infection control measures have been immediately implemented and strict precautions are in place to limit the spread of the infection, including the wearing of standard healthcare workers’ protective clothing and the temporary suspension of new patient admissions.”

Scabies is an itchy condition of the skin caused by a tiny mite which burrows into the outer layer of skin to lay its eggs.

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

(c) 2008 Herald, The; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.