NHS Western Isles has said it will reopen its surgical ward from Saturday as Covid cases among staff members continues to ease.
Thanking people for their patience Fiona McKenzie, NHS Western Isles chief operating officer, said measures taken at the hospital had been necessary to protect the community.
The surgical ward has been closed since March 31.
Hospital visiting will also resume at the same time.
New admissions from Saturday
A spokesman for NHS Western Isles said: “The surgical ward in Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway will re-open to new admissions on Saturday.
“The ward had been closed to new scheduled admissions on March 31, as a result of a number of individuals linked to the ward testing positive for Covid-19.
“An incident management team has been managing the outbreak and agreed today that the ward can safely re-open.”
He continued: “Designated visiting will also resume on Saturday, in line with arrangements in the rest of the hospital.
“All patients will be permitted one visit every day from one designated visitor, or two designated visitors in the same visiting slot from the same household.
“The designated visitor will be identified by each inpatient will be for the duration of the inpatient stay, and can only be changed in exceptional circumstances.”
Visitors were reminded to book all visits in advance, and to take a Lateral Flow Device test before visiting hospital.
Planned theatre will resume from Monday
Planned theatre and endoscopies will resume next week. Patients whose procedure was cancelled will be contacted by the health board.
Fiona McKenzie, NHS Western Isles chief operating officer, said: “We are pleased to be able to re-open the surgical ward and to resume planned theatre in the Western Isles Hospital.
“The measures taken over the past two weeks were necessary to protect our patients and staff and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our local community as we took the steps required to manage this outbreak.
She added: “I would again apologise to any patients inconvenienced as a result of the required measures, and we will be in touch as soon as we can with all those affected to re-schedule procedures and appointments.”
