NHS Grampian operations at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Woodend Hospital are postponed
A health board has apologised to patients after it was revealed that dozens of operations will be postponed.
NHS Grampian confirmed that around 20 operations due to take place in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Woodend Hospital will be postponed in the coming days.
Emergency surgeries, C-sections and operations where patients are deemed to have high clinical priority will continue.
Both of the health board’s central decontamination units, used for sterilising and preparing surgical equipment, are currently able to operate.
Divisional general manager, Cameron Matthew said: “The postponements are regrettable, and I would apologise to everyone who will be affected by this.
“We will individually contact patients affected as soon as possible – if you do not hear from us, it is because your operation is still due to go ahead.
“We are currently looking at every case scheduled to take place in the coming days and prioritising patients based on clinical need.
“We understand that waits for most operations are already longer than we would like, and we realise that there is a very real impact on the quality of life to many of the people waiting for procedures.
“If your procedure is postponed, please be assured that we will reschedule your surgery at the earliest possible opportunity, once the situation has been resolved.
General manager for facilities and estates at NHS Grampian, Gavin Payne, added: “We are currently utilising contingency plans and using other sites, outwith Grampian, to carry out the work of the clinical decision unit (CDU).
“But this is causing extended turnaround times for our surgical instruments which impacts the number of operations we can undertake.”
According to NHS Grampian, work is underway to repair both CDUs. Once these works are carried out, a series of environmental tests will need to be conducted to ensure the space is safe to return to use.
