PATIENTS were cared for in cupboards, offices and dining areas as space ran out in Scottish hospitals last year, a nurses survey has revealed.
More than one-third of those questioned by the Royal College of Nursing Scotland said their ward had assessed patients in places that were not intended for clinical care.
Almost 25% (225 nurses) of those surveyed said day rooms had been used and 14% (128) said patients had been looked after in corridors.
More than 80 nurses told the survey clinical care had taken place in offices and 50 said people had been looked after in cupboards or storage areas.
Theresa Fyffe, director of RCN Scotland, said: "Being assessed or cared for in a waiting lounge, corridor, cupboard or office – or indeed any area not specifically designated for clinical care – is neither dignified for the patient nor good for their care.
"Where this happens, patients' confidentiality, privacy and dignity will be compromised. And, equally worrying, it raises issues of patient safety, as these areas may not be suitably equipped and the risk of infection is increased.
Details of the survey were shared with The Herald as part of our NHS Time for Action campaign, which is calling for a review of capacity in Scottish hospitals.
The survey comes as a review highlighted failings at 14 hospitals with high death rates in England, including concern about patients being unmonitored on trolleys for long periods.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We have worked closely with the RCN and other nursing unions to develop the mandatory workload planning tools, which help determine the best nursing levels in hospitals and communities across Scotland.
"More people are being treated in the community and hospital stays are shorter than ever, so the shape and size of the NHS workforce is changing.
"Under this Government, the NHS has increased its workforce, with more than 900 additional consultants and more than 1000 additional qualified nurses."
"We are explicit with NHS boards that care should only ever be given in areas equipped appropriately and by staff skilled to do so. In extraneous circumstances it can be appropriate to use flexible areas to deliver care, ensuring patient safety is the number one priority at all times and patients are treated with dignity and compassion.
"Regular inspections from Healthcare Improvement Scotland monitor the use of the hospital estate, and where deficits are identified, NHS boards are compelled to rectify them."
There are now calling for a full inquiry into the state of the NHS in Scotland.
Labour health spokesman Neil Findlay said: "It's time for a full inquiry into the state of the NHS in Scotland.
"These latest revelations again reinforce what MSPs have been telling the SNP Government for over a year.
"Our NHS is struggling to cope with the demands being placed upon it and the cuts to nurses and beds are being felt across Scotland."
The MSP claimed the health service was now "without political leadership or strategic direction", adding: "Under the SNP nurses have been cut, patients are abandoned on trolleys or treated in cupboards and offices, waiting lists were fiddled and beds have been cut.
"It doesn't need to be like this. It shouldn't be like this.
"The SNP has serious questions to answer about its mismanagement of our health service.
"It is only right that these deeply worrying stories are investigated fully by the Scottish Parliament's Health Committee. It's time for a full inquiry into the state of the NHS in Scotland."
Tory health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said there was "absolutely no excuse" for patients to be treated in parts of hospitals such as corridors and cupboards.
"A significant slice of Scotland's hospital estate is new and the Scottish Government should have had the ability to build these to cope with additional capacity," the Conservative MSP said.
"Almost every health board has had a new hospital of some description in recent years, often built on sprawling, out-of-town sites.
"The argument in many cases for this was to allow for extra room but it seems this argument has not been utilised."
Mr Carlaw said former health secretary Nicola Sturgeon had "a lot to explain about the chaotic legacy she left behind", adding: "I can't see Nicola operating from a cupboard."
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