Dunbar Hospital plans are scrapped

CONTROVERSIAL plans for changes at the Dunbar Hospital in Thurso that caused public anxiety and discord amongst medical professionals have been binned.

At a meeting of the North Highland Community Health Partnership on Tuesday, the committee endorsed the move to scrap the current range of options which included moving palliative care services to nursing homes and cutting the opening hours of the minor injuries unit.

NHS Highland is now going back to the drawing board to start again with proposals for health services in the west of the county.

North Highland CHP chairman Colin Punler said the committee had not been convinced the proposals put forward by management would be better for patients.

“NHS management locally is signalling its intention to adopt a new approach to service redesign and the committee welcomes this,” he said.

The current proposals have now been taken off the table.

“Committee members emphasised the importance of an inclusive and open approach to the future development of options, leading to a greater sense of ownership among clinicians about the preferred service model and consensus around the outcomes for patients.”

It was agreed at the meeting that work was to start immediately to begin the process again.

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*For more on this story check out today's John O’Groat Journal.