Doctors slam plans to close RNI hospital in Inverness
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SENIOR medics have launched a scathing attack on plans to close the RNI community hospital in Inverness.
As the Courier revealed in July, the hospital is to be closed.
NHS Highland claims the closure is only temporary and is to prepare the building for use in a possible second wave of coronavirus this winter.
But concerns have been raised about the impact both for patients who would normally be accommodated there and the knock-on effect at Raigmore Hospital, where dozens of beds have already been removed to allow for social distancing.
Patient numbers are currently being run down at RNI in preparation for the closure, with fewer than 10 currently accommodated.
The hospital is capable of caring for up to 30 people in all, in two wards.
RNI provides vital rehab care for people recovering from operations or sickness but too ill to go home, as well as palliative care for those approaching the end of life.
Now, in a letter which has been seen by the Courier, a group of doctors at Raigmore Hospital have raised fears about the quality of care vulnerable patients can expect in future.
Written directly to RNI staff, the letter also hit out at the way the process has been handled by bosses at NHS Highland.
“The loss of the RNI infrastructure and the multi-disciplinary team who have built such a wealth of experience and knowledge in this area will come at significant cost to patient-centred care, patient flow through Raigmore Hospital, provision of care to patients close to their homes and individualised complex discharge planning,” it said.
“As a department we, as I’m sure you do, have ongoing concern for those frail and vulnerable patients who benefit from the opportunity to access inpatient community based rehabilitation.”
The letter added: “It was very disappointing to find that a significant proportion of staff members, patients and their relatives received the news of the closure from social media and/ or the newspaper.
“Unsurprisingly this has led to anxiety, irate responses from relatives directed at staff and distrust of the service and those involved.
“We see the process and the communication by which the current RNI inpatient community rehabilitation team has been dismantled as disrespectful and unprofessional.”
Paying tribute to how staff at RNI coped during the coronavirus crisis, the doctors said: “You were on the frontline of conveying information to distressed relatives who in many cases could not even visit.
“In many cases you were having to convey terrible news, which you did in a caring and compassionate manner.
“We thank you for this work and are so proud that you continue to work so professionally and empathically through this time despite all of these changes.”
They are making their concerns known to acute service managers at Raigmore Hospital.
A nurse at the RNI who was aware of the content of the letter, said: “It was very heartening to receive this show of support from colleagues, which voiced a lot of the concerns we have had ourselves about the way the whole process has been handled.
“It feels inevitable now that RNI will close as staff are being assigned to other duties, but there will be an impact and we all just hope that it is in fact a temporary measure and we will be reopening soon for the patients who need us.”
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Edward Mountain said he shared medics’ concerns about the closure of the RNI.
“Currently we need more hospital beds rather than less, to allow us to address the backlog of operations and treatment caused by the pandemic,” he said.
“It appears NHS Highland are treating the hardworking frontline health care staff at RNI without the respect they are due and without consulting the wider workforce at Raigmore.
“I will continue to press the Scottish Government to ensure we solve the patient accommodation deficit, which will be compounded by this move.”
