Caithness_General_Hospital

Caithness General Hospital

Caithness General Hospital

Hospital in Highland, Scotland

Caithness General Hospital is a rural general hospital operated by NHS Highland, located in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Highland.[1]

Quick Facts Geography, Location ...

History

The hospital became operational in 1986 to replace the previous Caithness Central Hospital.[2] A new Day Case Unit was opened by Sam Galbraith in 1999.[3] A CT scanner service was introduced in August 2008.[2]

The hospital formerly had a consultant-led maternity unit, but stringent application of clinical risk assessment criteria meant that in 2012 and 2013 around 30% of pregnant women in the Caithness area needed to travel to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to give birth.[4] In November 2016 the NHS Highland board approved the introduction of a community midwifery unit.[5]

Services

Capacity

The hospital has the capacity to accommodate 68 inpatients: 20 medical beds, 42 surgical beds, and 6 beds in the midwifery unit.[6] Its services include: 24-hour Accident & Emergency department, assessment and rehabilitation, general medicine, general surgery, midwifery and palliative care.[7]

Emergency surgical services

In December 2014 the health board announced that emergency surgical services would not be available at night or weekends from 15 December 2014, due to a lack of suitable consultant cover.[8] A meeting between the health board and community leaders to discuss staff shortages was then scheduled for 6 January 2015.[9]

Community midwife unit

In January 2017, the hospital completed the introduction of a midwife-led unit.[10] As of 2015, there are an estimated 136 births a year at the hospital; it has full accreditation as baby friendly, since November 2009.[11][12]

Hospital radio

Radio Remedy is a volunteer-run radio station based at the hospital.[13]

References

  1. [1]
    "Caithness General Hospital". NHS Highland. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  2. [2]
    "The Duke of Rothesay visits Caithness General Hospital" (Press release). NHS Highland. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  3. [3]
    "Galbraith visits Caithness General Hospital" (Press release). Scottish Government. 17 March 1999. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013.
  4. [4]
    "Caithness women travelling 100 miles to give birth". The Scotsman. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  5. [5]
    "Maternity plan for Caithness General approved by NHS board". BBC News. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. [6]
    "services". www.cgh.scot.nhs.uk. NHS Highland. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  7. [7]
    "Wick's Caithness General 'meeting most' hygiene rules". BBC News. BBC. 6 November 2013.
  8. [8]
    "Caithness General to stop overnight and weekend surgery". BBC News. BBC. 8 December 2014.
  9. [9]
    "Talks to be held over Caithness General consultant shortages". BBC News. BBC. 23 December 2014.
  10. [10]
    "Midwife-led unit introduced at Caithness General in Wick". BBC News. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  11. [11]
    "Baby Friendly accreditation: Caithness General Hospital". Baby Friendly Initiative. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  12. [12]
    "Caithness maternity unit receives international recognition". NHS Highland. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  13. [13]
    "Radio Remedy". Radio Remedy. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
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