NHS Borders staff continue to experience extreme pressures across the health system.

The Emergency Department (ED) is exceptionally busy, with a number of people requiring admission.

The Borders General Hospital is currently full. Beds are fully occupied and there are bays closed in three wards due to confirmed Covid-19 and/or Flu.

Health services in the community, including General Practices are also under extreme pressure.

NHS Borders say that there are things that you can do to help and have issued the following advice.

Border Telegraph:

“Before you attend the ED please call NHS 24 on 111 first and they will signpost you to the right place to get the advice or care that you need.

“You may need to wait a while for your call to be answered or for a member of the team to call you back, but this can be done in the comfort of your own home.

“If you do need to be seen you may be given an appointment time to minimise the time you need to spend in the department. This also reduces pressure on our team.

“If you think that your condition is immediately life-threatening you should call 999.

“If you do require urgent medical care at the ED, please be patient and treat our staff with respect and be kind.

“We are attending to patients as soon as we can however you may have to wait longer than you would normally expect; and patients will be treated according to clinical priority.

“If your family member is fit to be discharged from hospital, please help us to get them home quickly when they are well enough by being ready and available to collect them or support their discharge to their next place of care.

“Please understand that we cannot always offer the preferred next place of care in the location that you would choose, and we may ask you to compromise.

“Working with us to accept this means that we can get the flow through our hospitals moving and offer care to the maximum amount of people who need it.

“If you are feeling under the weather and have a cough, cold, sore throat, fever or stomach bug please wait until you are feeling better (and have been symptom-free for 48 hours) before visiting your loved ones in our hospitals.”