Some who arrived by ambulance at the Ayrshire hospital last Friday were still waiting to be seen on Saturday afternoon.
And one patient, who was forced to wait for treatment after suffering a blood clot in her lung, said: “The system is broken.”
NHS Ayrshire and Arran today apologised for the length of time patients were being made to wait in the combined assessment unit.
And the health board revealed its hospital sites are currently “exceeding capacity” due to the demand on services.
(Image: Newsquest) Troon pensioner June Coghlan, 72, was one of those forced to wait on chairs or trolleys at Crosshouse over the weekend.
She said: “I was taken to the unit at 3pm on Friday with a blood clot on the lung. I was still in a waiting room by 1pm on the Saturday.
“I was discharged from Crosshouse and had to phone Ayrshire Doctors on Call on Saturday night. I was then taken by ambulance to Ayr Hospital as Crosshouse couldn’t take any more patients. Then I was waiting seven hours before I was given a bed.
“The system is broken. I don’t blame staff, it’s down to bad management.
“The staff are totally overworked, there’s not enough nurses or doctors to cover the amount of patients coming through the doors – or beds available.“
June continued: “At Crosshouse, patients were left on chairs in Combined Assessment Unit for 18 or 24 hours before they got to see a doctor. They eventually brought trolleys for people to lie on.
“Patients were also in ambulances outside – we counted nine of them.
“We were told it was worse in accident and emergency. There seem to be no beds and not enough staff.”
The complaints came as the NHS across Scotland is struggling to cope with a big jump in flu cases.
Vicki Campbell, director of acute services (Image: NHS Ayrshire & Arran) Vicki Campbell, director of acute services at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: “We apologise for the length of time patients are waiting in our Combined Assessment Unit.
“Due to demand on our services across the whole system, our hospital sites are currently exceeding capacity. This has led to increased waits for patients who require to be admitted to a ward.
“Unfortunately this has resulted in patients staying in the assessment department longer than we would wish. All patients are clinically assessed for suitability to sit in chairs and patients who require trolleys or beds are prioritised.
“We work closely with Scottish Ambulance Service to continuously monitor all ambulance offload delays and prioritise patient access based on clinical need. Due to the extended waits, additional areas have been opened to support ambulance offloads.
“The clinical teams continuously review any patients with prolonged waits to ensure that all patients receive required treatment and care whilst waiting for transfer to a more appropriate setting.”
She added: “We are fully committed to ensuring those with emergency and urgent needs are treated as quickly as possible alongside those patients who have been waiting for the longest period.”
Late last year, South Scotland Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey warned that A&E services in NHS Ayrshire and Arran could face a “terrifying” winter.
She blasted the “absolutely appalling” waiting times across the health board, after it was revealed that only 68 per cent of patients were seen within four hours at NHS Ayrshire and Arran A&E departments during August 2024.
At Ayr Hospital, only 59.7 per cent of patients were treated within the SNP’s target of four hours, well below the 95 per cent goal.