Caithness health campaigner concerned about 'potentially dangerous' condition of NHS Highland buildings
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A "really worrying" development is how a Caithness health campaigner has described the news that 11 NHS Highland buildings, including three in the far north, could be in a potentially dangerous condition.
Ron Gunn, the chairman of the Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT), said the public, patients and staff need answers quickly and called for checks to be carried out as soon as possible.
He was speaking after it emerged that more than 250 NHS buildings in Scotland could be at risk of collapse due to the possible use of a certain type of concrete in their construction.
They include the Queen Elizabeth wing at Caithness General Hospital in Wick as well as the main building and the service block.
The new outpatients building at the Dunbar and the main building at the Dunbeath Health Centre are also on the list, which resulted from a desktop study undertaken by NHS Scotland.
It identified 254 buildings which have "two or more characteristics which are consistent with the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete" (RAAC) – a material used to build roofs, walls and floors from the 1960s to the 1990s. The lightweight concrete is understood to have been also used in schools and police stations.
NHS Scotland issued a Safety Action Notice in February and completed a desktop survey of its estate in June. It has warned the material is potentially vulnerable to "catastrophic failure" but the Scottish Government said there is "no evidence to suggest that these buildings are not safe".
In the Highlands, a total of 11 buildings are listed, although 25 incidences of the material being used are reported at various hospitals and health centres.
Mr Gunn, the chairman of Highland Council's Caithness committee, said: "This is a worrying development with buildings or parts of buildings in the NHS Highland area potentially in a dangerous state. The last thing we need is a similar situation to what happened at Thurso High School."
Block A at the high school was closed last year and is to be demolished due to structural problems.
Mr Gunn said checks should be carried out on the NHS buildings as soon as possible. "The sooner that happens the better, but it could take several months to complete," he said.
"If the buildings are okay that's fine but if faults are found then the Scottish Government would need to help out. It is really worrying as this seems to be a problem all over Scotland.
"What would NHS Highland do if buildings are found to be unsafe? Would they restrict their use or consider closing them as a precaution," asked Mr Gunn.
He pointed out that the Dunbar hospital will be replaced under the health board's redesign plans but said it is more of a concern for Caithness General and the other buildings on the list in the far north.
"The public, patients and staff need answers fairly quickly on this issue and CHAT will be trying to ensure that happens, as this is potentially a very dangerous situation," added Mr Gunn.
NHS Highland was reluctant to comment directly on a number of detailed questions posed by the John O'Groat Journal.
In a statement a spokesman said: "NHS Assure have been co-ordinating a piece of work to establish which buildings within NHS Scotland could potentially have RAAC. During the process it identified some areas within our estate that could potentially have RAAC and we are now setting up on-site surveys to confirm that RAAC is present and establish what if any risk/cost is associated."
Other NHS Highland buildings which could be affected include parts of Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and the Lawson Memorial in Golspie, while across Scotland hospitals in Dundee, Kilmarnock and Glasgow might also contain the material.
