Patients travelling from Western Isles to Forth Valley Royal for cancer treatment

It has been revealed that, due to staff shortages, somepatients from the Western Isles will no longer be triaged by NHS Highland, but instead have to travel to Forth Valley Royal rather than going to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

Travelling to the Larbert hospital will mean additional challenges for patients as it will require more travelling, with the closest airport being Edinburgh, half an hour away by car or taxi.

A spokesperson said: “NHS Western Isles has been informed that, due to staffing issues, regrettably some patients requiring access to a ‘One Stop Clinic’ will be triaged by NHS Highland to the NHS Forth Valley service until further notice. "This will impact some patients from the Western Isles, and those patients impacted will be informed about arrangements. “Triaging some patients to Larbert in Falkirk will ensure that this important service continues and waiting times are kept to a minimum.” Asked to confirm whether that will mean physical appointments taking place in Falkirk as opposed to just assessments, they said: “Some Western Isles patients will receive appointments in Falkirk, some will continue to receive appointments in Inverness. NHS Western Isles will still refer all patients to NHS Highland and NHS Highland will decide which patients need to be triaged to NHS Forth Valley.” They said that “patients currently affected by this change have been notified” and the first clinic under the new arrangement was held on November 2. “We anticipate this change will be in place for the foreseeable future, and we will keep our community updated.”

Giving an assurance these additional will not impact patients in Forth Valley, a spokesperson said: “NHS Forth Valley has a well-established one stop breast clinic and are able to see all local routine and urgent referrals to the clinic within two weeks, with no waiting times for breast cancer surgery.

“We have provided similar support to other NHS Boards in the past and have received very positive feedback from the patients who have attended the clinic at Forth Valley Royal Hospital from other parts of the country, including women who recently travelled from the Western Isles.”