THE Highlands’ flagship hospital is unable to carry out a north woman’s back operation – because it cannot guarantee that equipment is clean.
Retired nurse Nancy Cuthbert, who suffers excruciating pain from her condition, was stunned when staff at Raigmore Hospital said they could not be sure specialist surgical equipment was sterile.
And it emerged last night that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has advised surgeons to stop using the tool altogether. The firm said it could not guarantee the cleanliness of the equipment – a metal retractor used to separate human tissue during operations to ease spinal disc problems – which was supplied by Worcestershire-based Mercian Surgical.
Mrs Cuthbert has no idea how long she will have to wait or where she will now be treated – and believes many others face the same plight.
The 60-year-old, from Cromdale near Grantown, said: “When you tell people what this is all about nobody can actually believe that because of one instrument you can’t get this operation in Highland.
“It’s so frustrating. Why can’t they clean this instrument well enough? It just doesn’t make sense.”
She added that she had never heard of a similar problem during her 42-year career.
Mrs Cuthbert suffers a condition similar to a slipped disc, in which the vertebrae has tilted forward and puts pressure on nerves.
She believes her injury was most probably work-related, having served in an era with less rigid health and safety rules.
A routine operation can pin the vertebrae in place.
She was told last month that she would require the surgery for the condition, she believes, could have been caused by heavy lifting during her time in the medical profession. Mrs Cuthbert was stunned to learn from a surgeon that the operation was not available at Raigmore because the hospital could not guarantee the equipment’s sterilisation. The MHRA’s warned of a “potential hazard regarding contaminants remaining on the instrument,” adding: “Previous use of affected devices may potentially have transferred contaminants between patients.”
A spokesman for NHS Highland said this was a national issue with one piece of equipment. “We apologise for any inconvenience caused and are currently exploring options for patients to use organisations that do not use this equipment whilst the company resolves the decontamination issues associated with this piece of equipment,” he added.
No one from Mercian Surgical could comment as directors were abroad at a conference.
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