NHS Highland has suspended elective orthopaedic work during August amid pressures on staff.
The health board has temporarily stopped appointments to free up beds for other care.
It is hoped the move will help staff meet the demand needed for emergency patients.
Decision to help focus on emergency care
NHS boards across the UK have struggled through the summer while staff have been required to self-isolate due to Covid and others take annual leave.
Katherine Sutton, NHS Highland’s chief officer for acute services, described the step as a “difficult decision”.
She said: “Our immediate action must focus on the safety of the patients in the hospital and has therefore led to a pause in elective activity including orthopaedic patients who require an inpatient bed as part of their care.
1/5#Orthopaedic elective work suspended for August
Our clinical emergency pathways have been under significant pressure &, as a result, we are struggling to keep pace all the services we are currently aiming to deliver to as a part of the remobilisation of planned elective care
— NHS Highland (@NHSHighland) August 11, 2021
“We have taken the decision to pause the orthopaedic elective programme through August.
“This will free up beds allowing us to meet the demand we need for our emergency patients and by changing the space within the hospital we will be able to create additional bed capacity within medicine.
“Our response to this situation will also focus on improved staff recruitment to increase the bed numbers available within the hospital to ensure that emergency patients can be accommodated without impacting on our remobilisation of the planned elective program which aims to deliver services to our longest waiting patients.
“This is a very difficult decision which has not been taken lightly. We know it will be extremely disappointing to patients who have been waiting too long for their orthopaedic operations, often in pain, and to our colleagues in orthopaedics who are determined to help their patients.”
What should patients do?
The programme is due to be reinstated from August 30.
Those who are not contacted have been advised to attend for their procedure as scheduled.
NHS Highland has established a freephone helpline for patients affected by the decision to suspend orthopaedic appointments.
Those affected can call 0800 0280492 from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.