Patients in the far north requiring emergency out-of-hours surgery face a 100 mile trip to Inverness because of a shortage of consultants in Wick.

Patients in the far north requiring emergency out-of-hours surgery face a 100 mile trip to Inverness because of a shortage of consultants in Wick.

NHS Highland confirmed that Caithness General Hospital had been experiencing significant and ongoing difficulties in providing sustainable 24-hour emergency surgical cover.

The situation had now become so acute that from next Monday ?? a small number of patients may have to be transferred to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for surgery required overnight and at weekends.??

The situation has come to a head with a recent retirement and resignation of two surgeons, leaving only substantive consultant general surgeon in the hospital.

Reassuring local people about the changes, Dr John Macleod, consultant anaesthetist and clinical lead for the hospital, said: ??Our ongoing problems with recruitment and reliance on locums won??t be a surprise to anyone. We have tried very hard to keep everything going but it??s now become so fragile that it??s not reasonable to continue as we are.

??We have therefore taken the decision that it is better to put in contingency arrangements on a planned basis rather than have to react to the next crisis. This means there will be no out-of-hours local consultant surgical cover in Caithness General but it will allow us to protect the vast majority of our surgical services.??

But Rob Gibson SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross called on NHS Highland to share consultants between Raigmore and Wick to meet out-of-hours surgery.

He said there should be a new pattern of employment for consultants to ensure that NHS Highland can support surgery when it is needed at Caithness General Hospital.

He continued: ??My sympathies go out to possible Caithness surgery patients that occur out of hours. Also I well understand why surgeons feel that the current staffing level is unsafe for such a key service. I want to see training and recruitment for smaller Scottish hospitals built into the education system and the NHS board medical cover plans.

??Caithness folk want urgent reassurance that no downgrading of Caithness General Hospital will result from this cut in 24/7 services.??

He said he would be discussing the matter with new Health Secretary Shona Robison this week.