User:Mark at NHS Highland/sandbox

Caithness General Hospital is a rural general hospital operated by NHS Highland, located in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The hospital is the most northerly of the hospitals in the Highlands. It is a fully equipped support hospital capable of receiving and treating casualties on a 24-hour basis. It has 66 staffed inpatient beds and additional beds in the Day Case Unit. Aside from it's 24-hour Accident and Emergency department, it provides medical, surgical, maternity, gynaecology, obstetrics, renal, palliative care, assessment and rehabilitation services and support services together with a wide range of outpatient services.

In addition, laboratory, pharmacy, theatre and X-ray services are also available.

The Caithness and Sutherland District of NHS Highland's north and west operational unit manages community health services for around 39,000 people across some 7,800 sq kms. The remote and rural nature of the region presents particular challenges for the efficient running and effective delivery of healthcare services.

Ambulatory Care Unit
This unit has 4 dialysis bays and operates Monday - Saturday from 08.00 to 20.00. Capable of dialysing up to 16 patients, the eight-station chemotherapy/medical infusion area with a single room option, allows patients to be treated closer to home rather than having to travel to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. At present, during the staged redesign of the hospital, this unit only operates two days a week. It is anticipated that upon completion, the unit will move to a five to seven day operation.

Acute Assessment Unit
The acute assessment unit at Caithness General Hospital allows both surgical and medical patients to be assessed and treated before then being discharged, retained in the hospital or asked to return for ongoing management of their treatment.

Step Down Ward and Elective Surgery
This ward allows patients who require ongoing medical or surgical care to be cared for and allows elective inpatient and day case surgery to take place. (The redesign includes plans for a new Day Case area that will improve patient care even further.)

Rehabilitation Ward
This ward will allow ongoing rehabilitation of patients required after having suffered a life altering medical issue such as strokes, fractures, and brain haemorrhages, allowing patients more time to rehabilitate physically and mentally adjust to their life-changing disabilities. The ward will also be used for less complex cases following trauma.

Emergency Department
This department is designed to cope with the same range of trauma and illness covered by a District General Hospital.

Emergency surgical services
In December 2014 the health board announced that emergency surgical services would not be available at night or weekends from 15 December 2014, due to a lack of suitable consultant cover. A meeting between the health board and community leaders to discuss staff shortages was then scheduled for 6 January 2015.

Surgical Theatres
Caithness General Hospital has two surgical theatres. One of which is fully operational and staffed while the other can used in case of emergencies or for cataract surgery. In future it is hoped that both theatres will be brought into full time use as more elective surgery is conducted at the hospital.

Maternity services
There is a consultant-led maternity unit, but stringent application of clinical risk assessment criteria has meant that in 2012 and 2013 around 30% of pregnant women in the Caithness area did need to travel to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to give birth.

There are currently an estimated 136 births a year at the hospital and it has full accreditation as baby friendly, since November 2009.

History
The new Caithness General Hospital became operational in 1986 to replace the old Caithness Central Hospital. A new Day Case Unit was opened by Sam Galbraith in 1999. A CT scanner service was introduced in August 2008.

The hospital is currently undergoing a £5m redesign.

Hospital radio
Radio Remedy is a volunteer run radio station based at the hospital.