Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Moves to reduce patient journeys from Elgin to Aberdeen

Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin
Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin

NHS Grampian chiefs have welcomed increased efforts at Moray’s biggest hospital to prevent patients from having to travel to Aberdeen for treatment.

The health board met in Elgin yesterday, and heard how staff at Dr Gray’s Hospital were being taught skills that would minimise the need for people to travel to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for certain procedures.

Representatives from the hospital in Elgin said they had come up with “innovative solutions” to spare ill patients the journey following the death of a patient.

Members heard that a man, referred to only as Mark, died of pneumonia while under the care of Dr Gray’s in 2013.

During an investigation into his death Mark’s family raised complaints after learning he had been ferried to and from Aberdeen to have an intravenous device fitted.

Though his death was unrelated, the family felt he had been made to endure unnecessary stress in his final days.

Divisional lead nurse Linda Oldroyd said: “Mark was originally admitted to Dr Gray’s with a hip fracture, but after the joint became infected he was placed on long-term antibiotics that required a catheter being fitted.

“The particular procedure was not carried out at Dr Gray’s so he was taken to Aberdeen.”

She added: “Mark’s story has resulted in a number of changes, and patients no longer need to travel back and forth to Aberdeen for the insertion of lines.”

Staff at Dr Gray’s have now been instructed on how to insert mid-lines, which help patients receive intravenous therapy.

Board member Jonathan Passmore added: “The root of this is the inconvenience of the journey, and the answer is the use of innovative solutions to reduce the amount of journeys required.

“This has a huge impact for patients and their families.”

Moray Council leader Stewart Cree, who is also a member of the NHS Grampian board, said having health chiefs visit Elgin for the summit served as a reminder of the distance patients have to travel.

Mr Cree said: “Anything that doesn’t aggravate the discomfort people are already suffering should be welcomed, and now we just need to expand on that.

“Having many board members travel from Aberdeen to Elgin for the meeting was a wonderful reminder of what it means on a daily basis for patients here going that same

distance.”

Following the meeting health bosses were shown around Dr Gray’s Hospital and the Turner Memorial Hospital in Keith.