Hospital probe after doctor is electrocuted

A PATIENT and his consultant were treated in hospital after suffering electric shocks when medical equipment malfunctioned.

The man was being examined at the Jubilee Hospital and Huntly Health Centre in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, when the accident occurred on Wednesday.

NHS Grampian said the patient had now gone home but the consultant was still being treated in hospital. Officials refused to give any information about the equipment involved. Yesterday a health board spokesman said: ‘We are still investigating the source of this unfortunate accident.

‘However, Jubilee Hospital is operating as normal and the area where the incident took place is fully functional.’

The patient, who was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, Moray, for treatment, was said to be ‘shaken’ after his ordeal, but NHS Grampian said both patient and consultant were ‘recovering well’.

Dr Jean Turner, the former executive director of the Scotland Patient Association, said it was important the public were given the findings of the investigation.

She said: ‘It’s quite disturbing that a member of staff and a patient should be injured while using a piece of hospital equipment.

‘There could be many reasons why this has happened but it’s not the kind of thing you expect to find in an NHS establishment when everything is being properly cared for and looked after.

‘NHS Grampian should investigate thoroughly and when they do find out what happened tell the public so they can be reassured about their own safety.’