NHS Lothian has temporarily closed its Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit (HSDU) at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh due to a small water leak. HSDU is the facility where surgical instruments are cleaned and prepared for surgery, and an ultra-clean environment is essential. The unit serves the whole of NHS Lothian.
The closure forced the postponement of planned and non-emergency surgery on Friday and over the weekend. Following further assessment, it is now clear it will not be possible to carry out routine elective procedures while the unit is closed. The more urgent surgery will be considered day by day on a case-by-case basis to prioritise those that are the most clinically urgent.
Tracey Gillies, NHS Lothian Medical Director said “We are sincerely sorry to all patients who have been or who will be affected by this problem. The decision to postpone any operation is never easy as we know how disappointing and stressful that can be. Unfortunately, it is essential, in order to ensure sufficient clean surgical supplies are available for emergency operations.
“Patients will be contacted by their clinical teams if their procedure is to be postponed, and they will be notified as soon as possible of rescheduled dates for their surgery.”
Support has been offered by several other Health Boards such as NHS Lanarkshire and their HSDU operator, Steris, who are providing replacement supplies of the surgical instrument trays used in operating theatres. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has also offered the use of their HSDU facility to carry out sterilisation and decontamination of NHS Lothian’s instruments.
NHS Lothian Chief Executive Calum Campbell said “We are very grateful to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC), NHS Lanarkshire and the other Boards who have all offered support. My thanks also go to our HSDU staff who are travelling back and forth to Glasgow to work at NHS GGC’s HSDU to help maintain our supply of clean surgical trays.
“These measures mean we will remain equipped for emergencies and can continue to carry out some planned surgery.
“However, although we are continuing to explore additional contingencies, regrettably, even with this help, there is likely to be significant disruption to our surgical lists while we work to rectify the damage and reopen our HSDU.”
The water leak, which came from a drainage pipe, resulted in small puddles of water forming on the floor and damp areas where the walls meet the floor. A full assessment is still underway, however it is thought that work to fix the leak source, rectify the damage, test and re-open the facility will take a minimum of to two to four weeks to complete.
