Patients warned of 'risk' after hospital water alert

NHS Highland said it had taken several actions since 21 February

Patients have been warned of potential health risks following a suspected water contamination incident at Inverness' Raigmore Hospital.

NHS Highland identified possible contamination of a hot water supply to parts of the hospital last month.

Recently discharged patients have received letters advising them the risk to their health were "very low", but have been asked to contact their GP if they experience high temperatures or flu-like symptoms.

The health board has carried out tests, including for legionella and pseudomonas. It said sampling done before the alert had come back clear.

NHS Highland has also posted information for patients on its website.

It linked the contamination of the water supply in the tower block of the hospital to the removal of redundant water pipes.

Some patients have received letters following the potential water contamination incident

NHS Highland said it had taken a number of actions since 21 February.

They included additional pasteurisation measures and filters have been fitted to all showers and hot water taps.

A spokesperson said: "A water sampling programme is in progress and results are expected to be returned over the next two weeks.

"Until the full results are available these contingency measures will remain in place."

The spokesperson added: "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."

Legionella can cause Legionnaires' disease, a potentially serious type of pneumonia.

Pseudomonas is a group of bacteria found in water and soil and can cause blood and lung infections.

NHS Highland said standard practice for an incident which involves potential water contamination was to test for legionella and pseudomonas.

The spokesperson said: "Routine water sampling already takes place and before this incident were clear."