NHS Grampian cancels more than 200 procedures after 'substance' found on sterilised surgical tools

More than 200 procedures have been cancelled in Aberdeen after an unknown substance was discovered on sterile surgical tools.

On Friday, NHS Grampian said an “unknown substance” was found on instruments after they had been processed using the central decontamination unit (CDU) at Foresterhill.

As a result, dozens of procedures were cancelled due to a lack of sterile equipment. The health board has since confirmed that around 100 dental and 120 elective surgical procedures have been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.

NHS Grampian has apologised to patients and said investigations are ongoing to confirm the source of the issue, which is thought to be related to a fault with a compressor within the system.

Paul Bachoo, acute medical director for NHS Grampian, said it will likely take several weeks before the CDU is fully operational.

“If you are booked in and you do not hear from us, please assume your surgery is going ahead as planned,” he added.

NHS staff in Aberdeen will continue to focus on emergency operations, caesarean sections and cancer care while the issue is ongoing.

Mr Bachoo thanked other health boards across Scotland for their support and offers to use their facilities.

“The offers of support from many other health boards in Scotland and the efforts and rapid actions of our teams mean that we have plans in place to gradually increase the number of procedures which can go ahead each day.

“We will be installing new machine washers in the unit as soon as possible to ensure enhanced resilience moving forward,” he said.