HOSPITAL wards in Ayrshire are so overwhelmed that staff are having to be drafted in from other parts of the health service to work on them.

Staff from HR and finance departments, among others, are making preparations to work on the frontline to ease the burden on their nursing colleagues.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran says the move is necessary becuase hospitals are at full capacity.

Health bosses say they must "ease the pressures on our health and care system while ensuring the continued safety of our patients, staff and their families".

A combination of rising Covid case numbers and staff absence has led to the perfect storm.

In January of this year, staff were taken from the health board's entire workforce, incuding "corporate support functions", and were put to work on wards.

They "undertook ward support tasks" to help them care for sick patients.

Jennifer Wilson, the health board's interim deputy nurse director, said: "NHS Ayrshire & Arran continues to experience the impact of the pandemic.

"Our hospitals are currently operating at full capacity and remain under emergency planning conditions.

"Throughout the pandemic our staff have worked tirelessly to provide care to our patients in the safest way possible and are focused on taking action to try and ease the pressures on our health and care system while ensuring the continued safety of our patients, staff and their families.

"As part of our workforce response to staffing challenges and high levels of absence, NHS Ayrshire and Arran are seeking to review staff availability to provide help and support to wards as a response to high levels of demand. 

"This includes all areas of the workforce, including corporate support functions. 

"In January 2022 a small number of helpers undertook ward support tasks, releasing time to care for nursing staff, and we are seeking to deploy helpers again as part of our response to high staff absences.

"Our health and social care partnerships have also deployed helpers to support care in a community setting.

"We remain extremely grateful to our workforce who have shown flexibility and resilience in responding to all stages of the pandemic and for their continued support to patient care and to colleagues."

In an attempt to ease the pressure facing staff, hospital chiefs are asking people to consider whether they really need to go to A&E or whether they can be better treated elsewhere. 

Joanne Edwards, NHS Ayrshire and Arran's director of acute services, said: “Pressure remains high across all our health and care services. This is due to staff absence, high occupancy levels in our hospitals, delayed transfers of care and high volumes of frail and ill patients requiring complex care.

“We continue to triage patient presentations and prioritise our patients based on clinical need.

"While most patients coming through our emergency departments are ill and need to be there, we know that some people who attend our EDs would receive more appropriate and quicker treatment elsewhere.

“So, we are asking members of the public to stop, think, and ask ‘Is it an emergency?’ If it is an emergency, come straight to the emergency department or call 999.

“That way we can ensure that our emergency departments are there for those who need it most – those with serious illnesses and accidents such as suspected stroke, heart attack, head injuries, fractures or wounds that need stitches.

“If it’s not an emergency, call NHS 24 on 111 and you will be assessed over the telephone and referred to the right healthcare professional. We know that you may need to wait a while for your call to be triaged.

"However, calling NHS24 from the comfort of your own home can avoid unnecessary trips to hospital and allow you to access care as close to home as possible.”