A massive surge in flu patients being admitted to the Highland’s main hospital has forced health chiefs to suspend around 60 surgery cases so far this week and stop all visiting without special permission.
Bed use across all hospitals in the region is being reviewed, and will result in many patients being transferred from the city’s Raigmore Hospital to another in the Highlands.
Dozens of extra flu cases are being treated at hospitals across the north – with more than 40 in Raigmore alone – placing the city hospital under “significant pressure”.
North MSPs David Stewart and Kate Forbes said they understood the strain the flu crisis was causing and welcomed the moved by the health board, but sought assurances that patients who have already had surgery rescheduled in the past, or have been on a waiting list for an unacceptably long time, are not rescheduled again.
And Mr Stewart, the new Scottish shadow health minister, urged people eligible for the free flu vaccine to make an appointment with their GP as soon as possible.
NHS Highland stressed that urgent steps were being taken to minimise admissions as much as possible and reduce footfall at Raigmore.
Dr Ken McDonald, associate medical director, said: “All activity scheduled to take place in the hospital will be reviewed by a small group of senior clinicians in order to prioritise emergency and urgent cases.
“We will unfortunately have to postpone some elective surgery. These are not decisions that we take lightly but we need to manage these pressures to ensure we are able to provide care safely.
“We acknowledge the disruption this will cause for some patients and apologise for the postponement.”
The health board has temporarily closed the minor injuries unit at the Ross Memorial Hospital in Dingwall in order to take extra patients from Inverness.
Dr McDonald said members added all visiting across Raigmore was now suspended, unless under special circumstances and with the agreement of the nurse in charge.
NHS Highland is urging that children under 16 in particular do not visit the hospital, especially with the schools returning this week following the winter break.
Consultant microbiologist Dr Adam Brown added: “We have seen an increase in the number of cases of flu within Raigmore and we also have evidence of flu being passed from visitor to patient.
“If you have any respiratory symptoms we would also ask that you do not visit any of our hospitals.”
Labour’s new shadow health minister David Stewart said: “The increase in flu cases has been putting an increasing strain on our hard-working, dedicated medical staff and I think the solution being made at Raigmore seems to be the sensible one.
“However, the uptake of the flu vaccine appears not to have been as high as previous years, so I urge people who are eligble for the free vaccine to make an appointment with their GP as soon as possible.”
And SNP MSP Kate Forbes added: “I know that work will not be rescheduled lightly. However, I do think it’s vitally important that patients are not rescheduled if their surgery has already been rescheduled in the past or if they’ve been on a waiting list for an unacceptably long time.”
