Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin has hot water and heating restored, NHS Grampian confirms
Hot water and heating has returned at a north-east hospital.
The boilers at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin have been repaired within the five-day period that NHS Grampian promised.
Both boilers were turned off on Sunday afternoon, meaning a waterless bathing system was in place on wards and mobile sinks were used by staff preparing food
Hot water and heating returned on Tuesday night.
Alasdair Pattinson, general manager for Dr Gray's Hospital, expressed his thanks to staff, visitors and patients.
He said: "We are pleased the work required to replace valves in the hospital's boiler system has been completed swiftly and it's now working well once again.
“A big thank you to staff who have made sure the impact on patients has been minimal, with mobile handwashing, hot water urns and hot cloth systems working really well during this short period.
“Our gratitude also goes to our patients, their families and visitors for their patience and understanding during this time."
Moray’s MSP Richard Lochhead - who recently thanked NHS staff for saving his life - gave credit to those carrying out repairs for getting things done in a timely manner.
“I’m pleased to hear the hot water is back on following essential boiler repairs and no doubt staff and patients will be glad this has been completed quicker than expected,” he said.
“Credit to those carrying out the repairs for their efforts and hopefully this will resolve any boiler issues for the foreseeable.”
Before the hot water was restored, Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP Tim Eagle described the situation at the hospital as “dysfunctional”.
This was down to the Scottish Government, he said, and was not a reflection on “hard-working” staff.
“I have had countless NHS staff contact me in recent months to express their foreboding about the state of Dr Gray’s,” Mr Eagle said.
“But even after that I did not expect to find that the hospital is in such a state that it cannot even reliably provide hot water or heating.
“This is no reflection on the excellent and hard-working staff at Dr Gray’s.
“It is entirely an end-result of the failure by the Scottish Government and NHS Grampian to invest in Dr Gray’s which has been left to wither on the vine.
“How on earth can we attract people to Moray, or retain our young people, if we cannot provide basic healthcare because of a dysfunctional hospital?”
