Pressure at Raigmore Hospital remains high with significant numbers of patients having been admitted over the past few days and very few patients being discharged.
We have seen a high number of trauma coming into the hospital and our flu cases remain significantly high which is putting further strain on an already pressurised system.
Support from across all areas of the organisation is being used and all available escalation is in place.
Measures being taken include opening additional beds, early discharge if appropriate, and transferring less acutely unwell patients to community hospitals outside of the Inverness area.
Dr Boyd Peters, Medical Director for NHS Highland, said: “While we always try to keep people in hospital as close to home as possible, on occasions like these we have to prioritise beds at Raigmore for people who are most seriously unwell. This can mean moving other patients to be looked after by our excellent teams in community hospitals, usually under an hour's travel time from Inverness. I'd like to thank these patients and their families for their understanding and cooperation.”
All of these measures will allow us to still admit the more serious cases but we also need your support in ensuring that if you do need medical care you use the most appropriate services.
If you need urgent care that is not life-threatening, call NHS24 on 111. NHS 24 will direct you to the most appropriate care, which might be a minor injuries unit, phone or virtual appointment, pharmacy or A&E.