Health chiefs are poised to carry out a “full investigation” into the cause of flooding which led to computers being shut down at the north’s biggest hospital.
About 30 operations and up to 60 other procedures were cancelled at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness on Monday due to the issue.
A large build-up of rain water on a flat roof on Sunday night and Monday morning led to a leak into a basement room where many of the hospital’s computer servers were located.
The systems were shut down as a precaution amid concerns over electrical safety.
The disruption continued at the hospital yesterday, with an NHS Highland spokeswoman saying: “The core clinical systems are functioning however we are aware that there are still some facilities that are not fully operational, these are currently being worked on.”
The service would not be drawn on claims that contractors had been working on the flat roof last week and that the drains had been blocked, resulting in the water build up.
The spokeswoman said a “full investigation will be happening” and that the hospital could not say what had caused the flood until that had concluded.
Raigmore had to resort to “paper-based” contingency plans on Monday as medical and nursing teams struggled to access X-ray and lab reports.
While most clinical appointments were unaffected and emergency operations went ahead, about 30 elective operations had to be cancelled, as well as many endoscopy appointments.
The health board apologised to patients who missed appointments but said safety was not compromised as a result of the problem.
It emerged earlier this year that NHS Highland is hoping to secure £76million for a major “redevelopment” of the ageing Raigmore Hospital over the next decade.
A further £12.5million has been set aside to instal new cladding on the main tower block between 2019 and 2022.
