Balfour shuts unit amid staff shortage

“Contingency arrangements” have been put in place at NHS Orkney amid the closure of The Balfour’s high dependency unit (HDU)

Orkney’s HDU unit remains closed this weekend due to “staffing challenges”, the health authority confirmed this Saturday. 

The Orcadian understands that the unit, which provides dedicated care to those suffering from illnesses such as heart attacks and strokes, has been closed for the past eight days.

It is also understood that as a result, critically ill patients are being held in A&E, to await medical evacuation to another board area with HDU facilities.

Asked to comment on the situation, an NHS Orkney spokeswoman said: “NHS Orkney, like other island areas, routinely transfers acutely unwell patients to the mainland for critical care, and this situation has not changed.

“Our clinical teams work closely with their counterparts on the mainland and the Scottish Ambulance Service to facilitate this transfer. Depending on the situation, it may require patients to be held in the Emergency Department awaiting transfer, but we base this decision on a patient’s clinical condition and support needs.

“However, due to staffing challenges, we are not able to open the HDU unit full-time and therefore have instigated our contingency arrangements.

“Staff from the HDU have been supporting other patients in the hospital.”