A CONTROVERSIAL plan to axe inpatient beds at Portree Hospital on Skye will be halted after a major review of healthcare provision on the island.
A report by Sir Lewis Ritchie, a leading GP academic and Scottish Government advisor, said the hospital must remain open and provide beds for long-term care, including palliative care, until a suitable alternative became available in the north of the island.
Read more: Nurses prepare food at Skye hospital amid severe staff shortage
He has also recommended that urgent out-of-hours care should be provided round the clock at the site with the support of the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Local MSP Kate Forbes said the recommendations provided a "light at the end of the tunnel" for campaigners on Skye who have been at loggerheads with NHS Highland over the future of the 12-bed hospital in Portree.
The review was commissioned by David Alston, chairman of NHS Highland, after a community backlash against the health board's proposals to downgrade Portree Hospital to a "spoke" facility without inpatient beds.
Under the plan, it would become a Primary Care Emergency Centre with GP and nurse cover for minor ailments and injuries while a new £15 million hospital in Broadford, 25 miles to the south, would become a "hub" facility providing inpatient beds, outpatient chemotherapy, X-ray and endoscopy services and minor operations.
Read more: Skye's new hospital still dividing opinion
Ms Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said: “I am pleased that Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie spent much of his review speaking to real people – local residents, campaigners and councillors.
“That was critical to ensure the review truly recognised the fears and worries of people on Skye.
“The most important recommendation for me is that Portree Hospital remains open in order to ensure fair and equitable health care across Skye.
“There has been far too much uncertainty about the future of Portree Hospital which was demonstrably making recruitment and retention much more difficult.
“It does not take much to recognise that people who live in north and west Skye need access to emergency, out of hours and urgent care in Portree Hospital – not at the other end of the island.”
Read more: Report reveals 'murky goings-on' at NHS Highland
The recommendations have been shared with local politicians, campaigners and NHS Highland ahead of the report being published later this week.
Mr Alston welcomed the report on behalf of the health board.
He said: “NHS Highland will accept the recommendations, and will now move quickly to consider how, working with the community and our partners, we fully understand the workforce and financial implications in order to implement the recommendations.
“I was particularly pleased to see the public recognition for exemplary work of NHS Highland front line staff to deliver safe and effective delivery of urgent emergency care services on a 24/7 basis.
"I hope having the assurance from a panel of experts, from across Scotland, that our services are safe provides some reassurance to local communities.”
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