THE biggest hospital in the Highlands has been placed in "code black" status due to rising Covid patient admissions and high numbers of staff isolating.
NHS Highland said Raigmore hospital had reached capacity and warned that emergency patients would face long waits with all non-urgent elective surgery and most outpatient appointments cancelled.
The health board said it had experienced "unprecedented demand" across health and social care services. The impact of rising Covid cases has been more severe because the hospital is carrying out more surgery than in previous waves of the virus and it is a peak time for annual leave.
It said urgent work is taking place to ensure patients can be treated "appropriately and compassionately".
Cancer and urgent cases will continue and, where possible, orthopaedic and day case work.
Fourteen Highland areas are now experiencing a rate of more than 400 Covid cases per 100,000 people, mainly in Inverness. The seven-day positivity rate is 262.9.
NHS Highland said: "The number of Covid-19 cases across our area has increased significantly.
"This is impacting on NHS Highland as some of these cases are now being admitted into our hospitals.
"We are also seeing the impact on a large number of our staff, across a number of settings, who are having to self-isolate leading to gaps and pressures in our service.
"In addition to this we are also at the beginning of the summer school holidays and planned annual leave.
"The impact of this at Raigmore Hospital, in particular, has been significant over the past few days.
"We have reached capacity in the hospital, we have long waits in our Emergency Department and we know people requiring urgent care will still need to come in for treatment. As a result, the hospital is currently at code black status."
The health board said the impact on services is also being experienced across community teams in Highland and Argyll and Bute.
"Urgent work is taking place to ensure we can treat our patients appropriately and compassionately.
"Medical, Surgical and Clinical Support teams are meeting regularly to agree the actions that must be taken and discuss what more can be done to reduce the pressure on services within the hospital.
"All non-urgent elective surgery has been cancelled.
"Cancer and urgent cases will continue and we will also, where possible, carry on with orthopaedic and day case work.
"Not only will this help with the bed pressures but it will also reduce the pressure on those working in theatres at the moment."
Dr Boyd Peters, medical director for NHS Highland, said: “We are doing all we can to safeguard services but we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel non-urgent work which I know many will find upsetting and frustrating. We are very sorry that we have had to do this.
“Covid is on the increase again but what is different this time is that we are seeing more medical and surgical activity at the same time.
"We also have a high number of staff having to self-isolate.
“If you are accessing services please be advised that your wait may be longer than expected."
Dr Peters added: “I know this has been a challenging time for all of us and many just want to get back to normal but Covid is still having an impact on what we do.
"Please can I ask that you all continue to follow FACTS guidance - wear a face mask, avoid crowded spaces, clean your hands regularly, stay 2 metres distance from others, self-isolate if you develop symptoms, and book a test to help us limit the impact that Covid can have.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here