Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary (DGRI) moved down from ‘Red Status’ to ‘Amber Status’ at 2 pm today.
The new hospital in Dumfries was put on ‘Red Status’ on Wednesday in response to an extremely high level of emergency department referrals and GP referrals.
Medical Director Dr Ken Donaldson said: “Continuing hard work by staff and support from the public has put us in a position now where we can move down from Red Status to Amber Status.
“We’re extremely grateful to all the efforts by staff to deal with a situation which has seen us experience a dramatic increase in admissions as part of a national surge. Many have gone above and beyond the call of duty, taking on additional shifts and altering their duties.
“We are also very happy that the public have shown support, and been open to our request to consider the best first point of help for medical issues.
“However, while we have moved down to Amber Status we are not being complacent. We are continuing to work hard to ensure we have the capacity in place to cope with demand, and the increased numbers of respiratory issues and cases of flu.
”And we would continue to ask that people give thought to the best first point of contact when seeking medical assistance, with support available from the likes of community pharmacies as well as GP practices.”
Red Status is part of the hospital’s escalation protocol, and can be enacted when a department is faced with the prospect of admission numbers exceeding available capacity. Red Status ensures that this situation is communicated to the entire health board, and allows the freeing up of capacity in beds and staffing from other areas.
Amber Status signifies that there is a limited capacity available, and action is necessary in order to meet projected demand.
