Caithness General Hospital
Hospital in Highland, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caithness General Hospital is a rural general hospital operated by NHS Highland, located in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Highland.[1]
| Caithness General Hospital | |
|---|---|
| NHS Highland | |
Caithness General Hospital | |
  Shown in Caithness | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Caithness, Highland, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 58°26′29″N 3°5′39″W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS Scotland |
| Type | Rural General |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 44 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
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 44 inpatients: 20 acute assessment beds, 24 post-acute and rehabilitation beds.[6] Its services include: 24-hour Accident & Emergency department, assessment and rehabilitation, general medicine, general surgery, community midwifery unit 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[update], 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]
