Covid: Outbreaks affect surgery at Stornoway hospital

Covid outbreaks have hit services at the largest hospital in the Western Isles.

Western Isles Hospital's surgical ward has been closed to new non-emergency admissions until further notice.

The local health board said there would be an impact on planned surgical procedures and it would be contacting affected patients.

Another ward at the hospital in Stornoway, Lewis, has also been closed due to a Covid outbreak.

NHS Western Isles said visits across the entire hospital had been temporarily restricted to essential only in an effort to protect patients and staff.

The health board's chief executive Gordon Jamieson said it would be a number of days before elective surgery could return to normal.

He said: "We are seeing more people in hospital with Covid-19 than at any time during the pandemic.

"I do apologise to anyone who has had their care interrupted. That's a decision that is not taken lightly at all but it is taken in the interests of everybody's safety."