Inverness businessman gives £10,000 boost to NHS clinic in Sutherland
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PEOPLE suffering chronic pain in the Highlands are in line for better care following a generous donation from an Inverness businessman.
David Sutherland, who has shareholdings in both the Royal Marine and Royal Golf Hotels in Brora and Dornoch, has contributed £10,000 towards the £15,000 cost of running the infusion service at Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie.
With NHS Highland making up the difference Dr John Macleod, lead consultant for the service, said: "Because of the nature of the pain, our infusion patients are seldom discharged. This new funding will enable us to take on patients who have been on the waiting list for some time. Patients having this treatment at this present time are waiting longer times between repeat treatments and hopefully this funding will improve this.
"Chronic pain is the largest public health issue in Scotland, with up to 20 per cent of people suffering from it and six per cent in its severest form.
The infusion service is based on lidocaine, a local anaesthetic agent which is infused into the bloodstream, providing pain relief.
Mr Macleod added: "We carried out 117 lidocaine infusions over the past year and this funding will hopefully allow the infusion service to double this capacity, with the addition of another infusion suite plus the required monitoring equipment."
Jackie Milburn, clinical nurse manager based at Raigmore Hospital, said: "I was approached by Mr Sutherland, who indicated a willingness to help expand the service. We secured prices for the conversion of the infusion suite plus equipment and supplies, and the NHS Highland board agreed to match the difference.
"There are big benefits to patients from a service which tackles conditions which do not respond to other treatments. Patients come from throughout the NHS Highland area including Lochaber, Strathspey, Caithness and Inverness to visit Lawson Memorial Hospital for their treatments, after which they require rest and recovery before going home."
Mr Sutherland said: "Offering assistance to the chronic pain management unit, which does such excellent work, is a way of expressing gratitude to the Sutherland community and further sustaining the Lawson Memorial in the future."
