Health officials have warned that services at Moray’s biggest hospital may have to be temporarily downgraded again due to a staff shortage.
Inpatient care at Ward Two, which is the children’s ward, at Dr Gray’s was suspended for two months earlier this year due to a lack of junior doctors.
During that time youngsters were transferred to either Inverness or Aberdeen to be treated.
Now it has emerged that despite four members of staff being allocated to shifts from February, a further four vacancies remain to run a “safe rota”.
Initial advertising for NHS locums attracted no applicants and the posts have now been re-advertised. Agencies are due to be contacted this week.
Last night, NHS Grampian stressed no final decision would be made about potential downgrades to the obstetric, gynaecology and paediatric services until next month.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: “The prospect of travelling to Aberdeen or Inverness will be worrying, particularly with the bad weather the winter months can bring.
“I’ve worked closely with NHS Grampian and management at Dr Gray’s to try to address the recruitment challenges in Moray.
“However, it might be that management need to expedite some of the ideas around attracting additional staff to the area.”
Moray MP Douglas Ross added: “Cleary we have to look at how we attract new doctors to this area, but the on-going problems loom large when people decide where to base themselves.”
Senior management at Dr Gray’s have already begun working on a blueprint to transform the hospital into a “centre of innovation”.
It is hoped that giving doctors the opportunity to work on creative projects will attract a higher quantity of applicants and end the recurring recruitment crises.
Last night, a spokeswoman for NHS Grampian stressed that “every step” was being taken in an attempt to find a solution to the staffing problems.
She said: “This will not influence staff positions within Dr Gray’s. There will be no redundancies and no one will lose out on pay.
“We will work with the teams to look at different ways of working during this challenging time.
“We realise this is a process we have already been through but we hope that through early communication we can ensure a smooth transition to this temporary change.”
