Physio dept. may move...but not very far
NORTH HIGHLAND Community Health Partnership (CHP) is considering transferring the physiotherapy service at Dunbar Hospital in Thurso to a different room in the facility to enable the service to continue at this location.
Following a pre healthcare environment inspection and a follow-up structural property inspection, the physiotherapy gym was found to be unsuitable for the treatment of patients due to the poor fabric and layout of the building.
A number of building issues were also found, the most serious of which related to subsidence.
North Highland CHP General Manager, Sheena Macleod, told the June meeting of the North Highland CHP Committee that underpinning the building to rectify the subsidence would cost more than £150,000.
She said: “Even if this money was committed, the building, although structurally sound, still would not be fit for purpose. As a consequence, the management team is considering the possibility of relocating the physiotherapy gym to the x-ray department at the Dunbar, which will provide vastly improved facilities, including individual patient treatment rooms. However, in order to accommodate this, x-ray services will require to be provided from Caithness General Hospital (CGH).”
Mrs Macleod pointed out that this would benefit patients requiring physiotherapy as it would mean that this service can be retained locally and provided in an improved environment. More than 1,100 patients per year currently receive physiotherapy at the Dunbar.
However, patients requiring x-ray would have to travel to CGH. Around 700 x-ray examinations are currently carried out at the hospital each year.
Mrs Macleod said: “Work is ongoing to determine whether outpatient clinics in CGH and Dunbar can be reorganised to ensure that clinics requiring x-ray support are carried out at CGH and other clinics can be relocated to Dunbar.”