Hospital ready meals plan after chef shortage in Western Isles

The Uist and Barra Hospital is struggling to fill catering vacancies

NHS Western Isles says it may have to provide ready meals for patients, due to chronic shortages of kitchen staff at an island hospital.

The health board said it had advertised three catering jobs at Uist and Barra Hospital 20 times in the past four months without any success.

The vacancy rate in the hospital's catering department is at 46% with further staff retirements due soon.

Temporary closures of the hospital's dining room are being considered.

NHS Western Isles said it would ensure that hospital vending machines are "well stocked" with drinks and sandwiches for staff, but conceded the arrangements were "not ideal".

Contingency arrangements

The board's chief executive, Gordon Jameson, said: "Despite our ongoing efforts, we have been unable to recruit to the three vacant posts in Uist, and we are potentially facing temporary closure of the dining room in the hospital if we are unsuccessful in our current recruitment efforts.

"We are unable to sustain the current level of service with only four permanent staff in post, having to cover every shift.

"We have explored options, including assistance from other agencies, however we are now having to look at contingency arrangements for both staff and patient meals."

The two catering assistant posts and the chef position at the Uist and Barra Hospital have been vacant since October last year.