Mackinnon Memorial Hospital

The Mackinnon Memorial Hospital, also known as Broadford Hospital, is a community hospital, located in the village of Broadford on the Isle of Skye. It is managed by NHS Highland.[1]

Mackinnon Memorial Hospital
NHS Highland
Entrance to Mackinnon Memorial Hospital
Shown on the Isle of Skye
Geography
Location	Broadford, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Coordinates	57°14′48″N 5°54′39″W
Organisation
Care system	NHS
Type	Rural General Hospital
Services
Beds	23
Links
Website	Website
Lists	Hospitals in Scotland

History

The hospital was commissioned as voluntary hospital commemorating the work of the Reverend Donald Mackinnon, the former parish priest.[2] It was designed by W L Carruthers & Alexander and opened in September 1914.[3] A substantial renovation and expansion was completed in 1963.[2]

The hospital established a reputation for rural surgical care, with an important role played by general surgeon John Ball, who spent his entire consultant career in Broadford, retiring in 1999.[4]

Services

The hospital has 25 in-patient beds and 24-hour on site medical and nursing cover.[5] The hospital provides a 24 hour Accident and Emergency service.[5] It has a single resuscitation room which is normally used for assessment of patients presenting to the hospital with trauma or acute illness (i.e. as they would to a normal Emergency Department).[5] Patients may self-present, may be referred in by their primary care doctor or may be brought in by the ambulance services (again, as with a normal Emergency Department). There is an x-ray machine with a radiographer on-call 24 hours a day, and various near-patient testing devices available are used in lieu of laboratory tests (formal laboratory tests are undertaken by sending samples to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for analysis and as such are not available in a timely manner). Telemedicine is utilised at the site whereby practitioners are able to discuss cases and obtain specialist opinions on diagnosis and management in real time via videoconferencing with specialists based elsewhere in Scotland.[5] Transfers of patients requiring emergency specialist or surgical management (e.g. those with acute appendicitis or acute STEMI) to secondary care hospitals such as Raigmore Hospital or tertiary units based in the larger hospitals in the central belt may be undertaken via ambulance or helicopter (depending on acuity and other considerations such as the weather and availability of resources).[5]

There are a variety of other services based in the hospital at various times of the week, including a fracture clinic, minor surgery, medical day case (e.g. for patients to receive chemotherapy), midwifery and diagnostic ultrasound.[5]

Rural practitioners

The hospital has 10 medical staff who are designated rural practitioners, general practitioners who have had specialised training in trauma and anaesthetics.[6] For air transfers, a local airfield is used, where fixed-wing aircraft can also land: the helipad at the hospital was closed in 2014 due to safety concerns.[7]

References

1. "Services: Dr MacKinnon Memorial Hospital / Broadford Hospital". NHS Highland. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
2. "Mackinnon Memorial Hospital". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
3. "The Hospitals of Skye". History of the Highland Hospitals. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
4. Ross, David (21 March 2014). "The Highland Line: why Skye's new hospital plan and cash for crofters could prove controversial". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 4 August 2014.
5. "Services: Dr MacKinnon Memorial Hospital / Broadford Hospital". NHS Highland. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
6. Stephens, David (Spring 2014). "Over the Seas to Skye". RCGP Revalidate. Royal College of General Practitioners: 3. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
7. Ross, Calum (21 March 2014). "Helipad could be built at new Skye hospital for air ambulances". Press and Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2018.