Thousands of islanders face major upheaval in their local health services with the removal of an important hospital service and the loss of out-of-hours GP cover.
Hundreds of patients will face road journeys of more than 150 miles when vital endoscopy internal examinations at Broadford Hospital on Skye are halted due to fears over decontamination.
The withdrawal emerged as NHS Western Isles revealed residents on North Harris would no longer receive overnight doctor care. The round-the-clock GP service is being replaced by a specialist nurse team as the health authority grapples with a crisis in hiring and retaining doctors in remote ares.
Last night Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said the Skye endoscopy situation was “desperately disappointing”, and claimed patients were being hit because north health boards were underfunded.
“We need a root and branch review of the NHS in Scotland to ensure it is fit for the 21st century,” she added.
Scotland Patients Association executive director, Dr Jean Turner, said the changes on North Harris were “a real shame for the patients”.
“It’s better than nothing to have a nurse, but most people, when they are really ill, want to see a doctor,” she added.
NHS Highland announced that endoscopy examinations were being axed at Broadford Hospital next month following an inspection by its decontamination group, which raised fears that the washer disinfector was at the end of its life and would not be replaced.
There were also concerns about the ability to keep clean and dirty items separate.
The procedure was carried out about 600 times last year, but the health board said the cost of making improvements was so high that the service would not return to the island until a new hospital is built.
A site for the replacement has yet to be chosen, and in the meantime Skye patients will have to make a 175-mile round trip to Inverness or a 164-mile journey to Fort William and back for the procedure.
A spokeswoman said the suspension was taken “with great reluctance”.
She added: “We have been able to sustain the service up until now and believe the extra measures taken by staff mean that the decontamination of equipment has been adequate and therefore we have no reason to believe there have been unacceptable risks to patients.
“However, we have been greatly concerned about the ongoing situation, including a series of recent breakdowns. It has also highlighted the additional cost of running the service.”
Dr Turner said she was shocked that Skye would be left without an endoscopy service for such a long time.
She said: “If something isn’t up to standard, then I can understand that it has to be suspended – you can’t put patients at risk.
“It is very unfair on the people of Skye to expect them to travel so far, especially when we don’t have any idea when the new hospital is going to be built.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Mary Scanlon said she was disappointed that patients would have to travel to Inverness or Fort William for so long.
She said: “It is important that patients are treated in a high quality, clean environment. Anything else is unacceptable.
“It’s all very well providing travel allowances for patients, who have to make these long journeys for endoscopy, and that is welcome, but for many people it also means a day off work.
“I sincerely hope it is a temporary measure and that endoscopy will be reinstated at the new hospital.”