Plans to cut emergency surgery at night and weekends at Caithness General Hospital have been shelved.
NHS Highland has admitted proposals to transfer out-of-hours surgical services from Caithness to Raigmore Hospital were “unworkable” – because of a lack of theatre capacity at the Inverness facility.
The health board unveiled the plans last month amid a staffing crisis at Caithness, which is operating with just one consultant surgeon.
While admitting that the proposed fix had been dropped, NHS Highland said continuing to rely on locum surgeons to keep the Wick hospital running was “neither safe nor sustainable”.
The health board also admitted that work would have to be done to assess accident and emergency provision in Caithness.
Senior NHS managers laid out the decision to local politicians at a meeting in Wick.
NHS Highland chairman, Garry Coutts, said: “I explained at what was a very constructive meeting that the situation at Caithness General remains fragile, with some safety concerns.
“That is why we are working with urgency to find a way forward.
“Whatever happens, there will be change, and I was heartened that the politicians at the meeting accepted that.”
Raigmore’s interim director of operations, Linda Kirkland, said that in the near future the Inverness hospital would not have enough theatre capacity and there was a need to develop Caithness General more fully.
NHS Highland is now considering transferring some elective surgical services from Raigmore to Wick.
She added: “This has always been an aspiration, but the current challenges give us an opportunity to make it happen.”
Area leader Councillor Deirdre MacKay, who chaired the meeting in Wick, said: “Key to the future is the fact that Caithness General is a significant asset for the health board across Highland.
“Raigmore is at capacity and requires Caithness General to support need across the whole area.”
Wick councillor Gail Ross added: “There will be no immediate changes but I agree that changes are necessary and we now need to get on and make that happen with some urgency.”