Health / Plans submitted for mobile operating theatre at hospital
PLANNING permission is now being sought for a mobile operating theatre outside the Gilbert Bain Hospital which should help with tackling waiting lists caused by the pandemic.
It is hoped that the unit will be delivered to Lerwick in December and be removed by November 2022.
It will also allow NHS staff to refurbish the existing hospital theatre complex without affecting waiting lists.
As previously reported, the aim of the project is to allow more elective procedures to take place in Shetland. A temporary MRI scanner is also planned.
Plans for the unit show three main rooms in the unit – an operating theatre, an anaesthetic section and a recovery area.
A link corridor will be in place to connect to the hospital for patient and staff access.
It would be sited in the car park.
Meanwhile the Lerwick Health Centre said it will be two GPs down over the coming fortnight after locum staff had to cancel their trips to Shetland.
It has asked people with non-urgent issues to check the NHS inform website as a first resort before contacting the practice.
“During the next two weeks we will continue to prioritise urgent requests from patients but it may take us a few extra days to respond to non-urgent requests,” the practice said in a statement.
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