Skye residents say their worst fears nearly came true after the emergency care system collapsed under the pressure of two major incidents in one night.
Teacher Eilidh Beaton nearly died while waiting an hour for an ambulance on Saturday as crews were attending other incidents, including the death of a woman at Skye Live Festival.
Both incidents occurred shortly before midnight just minutes from Portree Community Hospital, which is for urgent care by appointment only between 8:30am and 7:30pm.
Hospital closed and no ambulances almost led to tragedy
Previously it was ‘open’ for those who needed urgent help outwith its opening hours of 8am to 11pm.
However, the out-of-hours service has been sporadic since the Covid pandemic, with the facility ‘unstaffed during open hours’ according to the local campaign group.
This was despite an external review by Sir Lewis Ritchie stating that moving all services to Broadford Hospital – a 40-minute drive away – would be “disadvantageous to the people of north Skye.”
It recommended that “out-of-hours urgent care access at Portree Hospital should be provided 24/7 – there should be no closure of Portree Hospital in the out-of-hours period.”
Save Portree Hospital campaigners have been calling for the return of out-of-hours emergency care in north Skye since the change.
Campaigner Dave Urquhart said: “These incidents both happened only a minute away from Portree Hospital.
“NHS Highland keep telling us urgent care is available at the hospital, my question is why was it not available this weekend, one of the busiest times in Portree?
“If this weekend doesn’t highlight the need to reinstate the 24-hour A&E as said in Sir Lewis Richie’s report, then what the hell will it take?”
He added: “NHS Highland are slowly strangling health care on north Skye.
“I fear if they don’t act on the Ritchie report now, we will hear of many more unnecessary incidents.”
Neil Ferguson, who is a member of the SOS (Save our Services) NHS Skye group, told The Press and Journal: “We have warned them time and again this would happen, now it has.”
The incidents have sparked crisis talks, with the issue to be debated in parliament tomorrow.
‘We need to change the system’
Following a meeting held this evening, Neil Campbell, a member of Save our Services hopes by sharing their concerns, it will prompt a movement for change.
He said: “It was a good chance to air all the issues but to be quite honest all they were doing was carrying evidence.
“They were happy to hear all the stories and asked the relevant questions, but they were looking for our comments on what’s been happening with the Sir Lewis Ritchie process.
“It’s always important to support these committees but I’m not holding my breath.”
Mr Campbell said locals fear health bosses plan to close down urgent care in north Skye for good.
He added: “There is a genuine feeling in the area that, that is their intention but we are certainly not going to be quiet.
“We have got Sir Lewis Ritchie’s report that they’ve ignored for the last six years. Maybe now they will take heed of it. We need to change the system.”
Deputy First Minister and MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Kate Forbes has urged NHS Highland to open an urgent investigation.
She said: “I am aghast and deeply sad to hear about the weekend’s tragic events on Skye.
“First and foremost I express my deepest sympathy to those who have lost a loved one.
“My heartfelt thanks to all who assisted with both emergencies.”
She continued: “I am, however, hugely concerned by reports that during a medical emergency, access to Portree Hospital was limited for vital life-saving equipment.
“This is extremely serious if so.
“My first aim is to get all the facts so that I understand precisely what happened, and secondly there must be accountability.
“To that end, I have written first thing this morning to the chief executive of NHS Highland demanding an urgent investigation.
‘Enough is enough’
“Such is the seriousness of this situation, I have also brought it to the health secretary’s attention, and written to the Scottish Ambulance Service too.
“The full implementation of the Sir Lewis Ritchie report recommendations is something local campaigners and I have been pushing for some time now.
“Enough is enough.
“It has been six years, and the timescales for delivering the recommendations keeps shifting.
“North Skye in particular needs to know there is resilience and confidence in their local health service.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston added: “My thoughts are with all those involved, particularly the family and friends of the woman who tragically lost her life at the music festival in Portree.
“However, this was not the only incident over the weekend, and I have also been contacted about another incident which happened only minutes from the closed hospital and which, because of a lack of ambulance cover, required the involvement of RNLI crew.
“While it is important that all are investigated fully, there is real local anger over the lack of availability of urgent care at NHS Portree during a period that saw a high numbers of visitors in the area.
He continued: “I was on Skye on Friday and met with local health campaigners in Portree in the evening who raised fears over the potential risks of downgraded urgent care provision at Portree Hospital.
‘Real local anger’ over lack of out-of-hours at Portree
“In light of these incidents – and growing local concern and anger – I have submitted a request to the presiding officer to allow me to raise the issue with the health secretary in Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon”.
An NHS Highland spokesman said: “The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) responded to both incidents, with support from an off-duty advanced nurse practitioner on-site and a doctor from The Broadford Hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department attended.
“For one of the incidents, an oxygen mask was secured from Portree Hospital to support with the ongoing treatment.
“Due to patient confidentiality, it would be inappropriate for us to make further comment.”
A Scottish Ambulance spokesperson said: “We received a call at 23:56 hours on Saturday 11 May to attend an incident in Portree, Skye.
“We dispatched one ambulance to the scene and one patient was transported to Broadford Hospital, Skye.”
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