PATIENTS at Glasgow's superhospital are to be moved out of A&E even if there is no bed available for them on a ward.

Staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital have been told that the new Glasgow Continuous Flow (GLASFlow) model is necessary to free up space in the emergency department and avoid "excessive waits for ambulance offload".

NHS Tayside already uses a continuous flow system, but it is considered controversial by some medics as patients can spend hours on trolleys instead.

READ MORE: Why do Tayside and Forth Valley A&Es perform so differently?

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde insists that patients will not be left unsupervised in corridors, but may be placed outside a bedroom within a ward where they would "never be out of eyesight of the nursing team" and be given a call bell.

A memo to staff also outlines exceptions to continuous flow, such as patients "at imminent end of life", infectious patients requiring isolation, those with a learning disability, and those "requiring cardiac monitoring".

Otherwise it states that, by 3pm each day, "all planned patient moves should have taken place, all patients moved under GlasFLOW will be in a bed or have a plan for the bed they will go into imminently". 

The plan has sparked anger among nurses who say they are already overstretched with full wards and staff shortages.

READ MORE: Glasgow early discharge policy prompts concern

One QEUH nurse, who did not want to be named, said: "Patients are to be moved into clinical areas whether a bed is ready or not and to be nursed until a bed becomes available.

"My fellow nurses are appalled by this on patient safety grounds and on patient dignity.

"Most clinical areas are already dangerously understaffed and the nurses already under a great deal of pressure, now have extra patients to deal with, and having to deal with the justified complaints from patients and relatives."

READ MORE: Two thirds of patients at flagship Glasgow A&E waiting too long

A spokesman for NHS GGC said: “Safe and effective patient flow is critical to ensuring patients receive high quality care.

"As part of a range of measures being explored to help improve patient flow through our hospitals, we have adopted a model at the QEUH which aims to reduce the waiting time of patients in our A&E and assessment units to address overcrowding and the inherent risks which can come with long waiting times in A&E."