NHS moves quickly to re-schedule operations
NHS Highland has moved quickly to re-schedule operations for patients caught up in problems following last week’s flooding at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, including Fort William pensioner George Cromar.
Last week we reported how an angry Mr Cromar had his long-awaited hip replacement cancelled at the last minute.
Mr Cromar, 75, of Victoria Court, was already in a hospital gown and waiting to be taken to the operating theatre last Monday morning (October 2) when he was told the surgery he had waited 16 months for could not go ahead.
His operation was one of 30 cancelled after heavy rain seeped through a flat roof at the hospital the night before, flooding the hospital basement which houses vital computer servers.
A furious Mr Cromar complained to MSP Kate Forbes who said she would raise the matter with Scottish health secretary Shona Robison.
As well as the operations, around 50 other procedures were also affected. NHS Highland apologised for the inconvenience and said the appointments and procedures would be re-scheduled as soon as possible.
The same day the story was reported in the Lochaber Times, a delighted Mr Cromar contacted the paper to say he had been notified by NHS Highland that his hip operation had been re-arranged for five days later – on the Tuesday of this week.
Asked on Monday if it could confirm when the affected operations would take place, an NHS Highland spokesperson said: ‘Of the seven orthopaedic cancellations on Monday October 2, four operations have been re-scheduled over the next two weeks, including Mr Cromar, with the board working to re-schedule the remaining three as soon as possible.
‘The board, again, apologies for any inconvenience caused.’