NHS Lothian operations postponed due to steriliser leak
- Published
The unit is based at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary but serves all of NHS Lothians' hospitals
NHS Lothian is postponing almost all operations because of a leak in a unit that sterilises surgical equipment.
The health board is prioritising emergency and urgent surgery for at least the next two weeks as they try to fix the problem.
The hospital decontamination and sterilisation unit provides sterile equipment for 60 theatres across all of NHS Lothian's hospitals.
It is based at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Up to 400 surgical trays a day are normally processed through the facility.
It is understood the leak was identified in the ceiling of the unit which opened in 2010 as a centralised service.
It is not known when the unit can reopen.
Other health boards are providing assistance to NHS Lothian, but for at least the next fortnight the number of operations that can take place will be limited.
Emergency operations
Tracey Gillies, NHS Lothian's medical director, apologised to those affected.
She said: "The decision to postpone any operation is never easy as we know how disappointing and stressful that can be. Unfortunately, it is essential, in order to ensure sufficient clean surgical supplies are available for emergency operations.
"Patients will be contacted by their clinical teams if their procedure is to be postponed, and they will be notified as soon as possible of rescheduled dates for their surgery."
NHS Lothian chief executive Calum Campbell thanked the other health boards who have been supporting them.
NHS Lanarkshire and their Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit (HSDU) operator, Steris, are providing replacement supplies of the surgical instrument trays used in operating theatres.
And NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has also offered the use of their HSDU facility to carry out sterilisation and decontamination of NHS Lothian's instruments.