Surgeries postponed at Western Isles Hospital due to water leak

Surgeries at Western Isle Hospital in Stornoway have been postponed today due to a water leak.

The leak was discovered on level one of the main building, requiring the water supply to the facility to be switched off temporarily.

NHS Western Isles, which operates the hospital, said staff were working “extremely hard” to identify the problem.

All surgeries scheduled to take place having to be put on hold.

The exception is procedures using scopes, which will be able to go ahead as planned.

Staff need to find and isolate and repair the issue before normal operations can restart.

It is not yet known if the issue is related to the snow and ice due to bad weather over the past few days.

In the meantime, mobile sinks for hand washing are being positioned around Western Isles hospital.

Drinking water is still available as it uses a separate system.

NHS Western Isles will provide an update once the issue has been identified.