Heart centres closed after water leak at Edinburgh hospital
Health boards says there is no infection risk to patients or staff
Specialist heart clinics at a leading Edinburgh hospital have been forced to close temporarily due a water leak.
The centres at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, which offer heart-related diagnostic and treatment procedures, have been taken out of use after the discovery of the leak, which resulted in mould being found in some non-clinical areas.
One cardiology patient expressed concern at the communication from the hospital, and said they had been waiting for five months to have a pacemaker fitted.
NHS Lothian said there was no infection risk to staff or patients as a result of the water leak. It added that the temporary reduction of clinical areas may result in delays, or appointments being rescheduled across some specialist services.
Dr Tracey Gillies, medical director of NHS Lothian, said the situation was being monitored by experts.
She explained: “Remedial work is under way following a water leak at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Some mould was located in some areas of the non-clinical environment as a consequence of the water leak.
"As a precaution, two specialist vascular procedure labs have been taken out of use while it is removed."
Dr Gillies said patients did not need to do anything, and would be contacted directly by their clinical team if necessary.
She said: "We apologise to affected patients for the inconvenience and would reassure them that we are working to restore services safely and as soon as possible."
However, one patient said the hospital was not able to offer any information about the length or the delay or when they would be seen, and stressed that their day to day life had been impacted by the long wait.
“I've been waiting since March for a pacemaker to be fitted and it has taken two calls to the department to find out what was happening,” they told The Scotsman. “ I was told there was an issue with the labs, but no information about the length of the delay or when I might be seen. I was originally told that the waiting time was two months, so the problems clearly pre-date this incident.
"There is no excuse for not telling patients what is going on, but with their antiquated system of sending letters through the post, maybe it's not surprising.”
The patient, who did not wish to be named, added: "I'm presumably in the same boat as lots of other patients, told not to drive until the pacemaker is fitted, effectively a ban because it wipes out car insurance and it's been hugely inconvenient for me as I regularly need to drive for my work."
Michelle Carr, chief officer of acute services, NHS Lothian, apologised to patients affected by the work to repair the water leak, and aid services would be restored to full capacity “as safely and as soon as possible.”
She added that staff were contacting affected patients directly by phone and through the board’s electronic patients letters system, which sends a text message link to an online portal. Postal letters will also be issued if patients are not signed up to the electronic system and as a follow-up.
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