Raigmore patients warned over flu and legionella risks after water woes

Letters have been sent to people admitted from February 21 onwards to alert them to possible exposure.

By Michelle Henderson

March 5 2025, 6:31 pm

Recent patients at Raigmore Hospital have been asked to look out for flu-like symptoms and high temperatures. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson.

Discharged patients in Inverness are being warned of potential health risks over fears of contamination to Raigmore Hospital’s water supply.

Disinfection measures have been in force at the city’s flagship hospital in recent weeks after the health board identified potential contamination to the hot water supply.

The fault, contained within the tower block of the Inverness health facility, was detected during routine maintenance.

It was linked to the removal of redundant water pipes.

Rigorous tests have been conducted over the last few weeks, aiming to detect traces of Legionella and Pseudomonas.

Patients recently discharged from the hospital are being warned to be on their guard for signs of infection.

Patients contacted over concerns for ‘contaminated’ water supply

Letters have been sent to people admitted from February 21 onwards, though NHS Highland has stressed any risk is “very low”.

Recipients are being advised to contact their GP or Out of Hours if they have flu-like symptoms or a high temperature.

Patients recently admitted to Raigmore Hospital are being warned to look out for signs of illness, following potential contamination of Raigmore Hospital’s water supply. Image: Adobe Stock / International SOS.

Concerns surrounding Raigmore Hospital’s water supply first surfaced almost two weeks ago.

NHS Highland issued a statement, confirming appropriate disinfection measures had been established by staff onsite.

Water filtering and flushing were initiated as a precautionary measure to ‘reduce any residual risk’ to both patients and staff.

Guidance has been issued on the health boards website as the situation continues to be monitored.

A statement issued by NHS Highland reads: “We take the safety of our patients and staff very seriously and these measures ensure the risk to them remains very low.

“As a precaution, we have written to all patients that were in the hospital at the time to advise they contact their GP or out-of-hours service as they normally would do if they have any new symptoms, including a high temperature or flu-like illness, and inform their GP they were in Raigmore Hospital during this incident.

“We are very sorry for any worry this may cause our patients and we will continue to monitor and assess the risks on a regular basis.”