A&E takes strain as casualties mount in wake of snowstorms

Ninewells A&E Consultant Barry Klaassen said: “The mixture of the snow and icy conditions and the numbers of people out and about on the streets celebrating the festive season has greatly increased the amount of acute trauma coming through our doors over the weekend.

“As you would expect there have been many people slipping and falling on the ice which has resulted in a very significant number of breaks, fractures and dislocations of mainly wrists and ankles.”

A similar pattern was observed in the Glasgow area, with the number of admissions to A&E spiking yesterday.

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde told the Herald: “Our A&Es have been particularly busy today and the number of people coming into our A&Es as a result of trips or falls due to the weather has certainly increased.”

She added that these incidents, along with seasonal viral infections such as influenza, were now making up a “quite significant” proportion of the A&E workload.

Compact snow and ice on many of Glasgow’s streets, especially in the west end and residential areas, prompted criticism of the council’s gritting service by some residents.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “We provide a 24/7 service over the winter and controllers make calls on what resources to use on any given day based on weather forecasts. We target priority routes first, including 568 miles of roads and 215 miles of footways.”

Hill routes and city centre zones were targeted first, according to the council’s website, with a team of 26 gritter lorries and 350 members of staff on hand to minimise the danger to motorists and pedestrians.

The number of grit bins across the city are also up 150 on last year, the spokesman added.

Schools and airports were also feeling the effects of the cold snap, as all schools in Shetland and more than 120 schools in the Highlands closed yesterday.

In South Lanarkshire more than 25 schools were closed due to the wintry conditions, mainly in the Lanark, Strathaven and Biggar areas, and several schools in North Lanarkshire shut early to allow pupils to be driven home by bus before the weather worsened.

Inverness and Aberdeen airports re-opened runways yesterday morning after the tarmac was cleared, while impaired visibility due to freezing fog caused delays for incoming planes.

Glasgow and Edinburgh also reported a handful of knock-on delays, mainly caused by heavy snow in Amsterdam, Paris and other parts of the UK.

Heavy snowfalls also saw rail services suspended all day between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh, with Scotrail unable to offer passengers any alternative transport as a result of equally hazardous road conditions.

Three people – including two teenagers – were seriously hurt when their car spun into a field following a smash on an icy stretch of the A90 in Aberdeenshire shortly before 9am yesterday three miles south of Stonehaven.

Air passengers faced major delays after Gatwick Airport’s runway was shut for several hours for de-icing while Luton suspended flights due to icy conditions.

British Airways cancelled all European and UK domestic flights leaving Heathrow after 7pm, and said services from London City and Gatwick were “significantly disrupted”.

In Bradford, police appealed for witnesses after a man was found dead in a freezing city centre pond. Also, fears were growing for a young man who vanished in the freezing weather. Adam Passfield, 22, was last seen at 2.30am on Saturday in Chelmsford.

Temperatures are expected to remain close to freezing for the rest of the week in the run-up to Christmas, though conditions will be mostly dry and bright, according to the Met Office.

Snow showers will be concentrated in the coastal regions of Argyll, Fife and Aberdeenshire, with some heavy showers over the next few days in Orkney and Shetland, gradually dying down by Christmas Day.

Cold and no comfort for foot soldiers

By Marisa Duffy

Yesterday the country woke up to the reality of commuting to work in a winter wonderland. While roads in many parts of the country had been visited by the gritters overnight, on the ungritted pavements it was every man for himself.

In Glasgow city centre and the Byres Road area, the constant footfall of shoppers and office workers cleared a path through most streets by mid-morning and rising temperatures saw most of the snow and ice turn to slush by lunchtime. However, the thaw was decidedly patchy.

It was in the quieter residential suburbs that conditions underfoot were most dangerous. In Jordanhill, Robert Gilmour, 78, who had a knee operation seven weeks ago, was gingerly making his way from his car to his front door. “I’m really not impressed,” he said. “There have been no gritters in this area. You would have assumed that outside the school would have been a priority. I have to say it’s very unusual – usually they are very quick.”

Locals resorted to using railings and hedgerows to stay upright. Steven Ellis, 33, was making slow progress trying to walk his dog. “Some of the roads seem to have been gritted but none of the pavements have been touched,” he said. “It’s really quite dangerous. It’s the older people you feel for.”

Fellow dog-walker David Dilworth, 45, said: “It’s absolutely terrible. It has taken us 10 minutes to walk less than 200 yards. The dog has already taken a tumble. I’ve a few old neighbours who won’t even leave the house because they are so scared of falling. I’ve had to go to the shop for them over the weekend.”

BBC weatherman Peter Sloss warned that warmer temperatures were a mixed blessing. “That means, instead of snow showers, there’s more rain within the showers, but because the ground is still frozen solid, that rain is hitting the ground and freezing on impact.

“Frosts at night will still be quite severe so ice will continue to be a problem on untreated roads and pavements.”