NHS apology after air ambulance sent to wrong Scottish island
Written by News on 25/03/2017
Health chiefs have apologised "unreservedly" to the family of a patient after sending an air ambulance to the wrong Scottish island.
NHS Grampian also apologised to colleagues in the Scottish Ambulance Service for the "isolated mistake".
The aircraft was sent from Aberdeen to Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland rather than Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney.
A spokesman said for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "Shortly after arriving in Shetland, our team was advised that the patient they had been sent to retrieve was actually in Orkney.
"Once we were made aware of the error, our fixed-wing air ambulance returned to Shetland to transfer the team and equipment to Orkney."
The patient, a young baby, was safely retrieved a short while later and transferred to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
The ambulance service described the event as "extremely unusual" and said they were reviewing the circumstances that led to the mistake with NHS Grampian.
They also said they had invited the family to meet with them to discuss the circumstances around the transfer.
A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said the March 17 incident happened after when a member of staff "made an error during the process of arranging transport".
"We must stress that this is an extremely unusual incident. We have seen nothing to suggest this was anything other than an isolated mistake," the spokeswoman said.
The health board said officials were in touch with the patient’s family and had offered to meet to keep them updated.
(c) Sky News 2017: NHS apology after air ambulance sent to wrong Scottish island
