Lorn & Islands Hospital is a

rural general hospital A rural general hospital is a small hospital, similar to a district general hospital, but is specifically trained and staffed to provide healthcare services in remote and rural areas. The concept was pioneered by NHS Scotland. Access to services ...

on the southern outskirts of

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is managed by

NHS Highland NHS Highland is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. Geographically, it is the largest Health Board, covering an area of from Kintyre in the south-west to Caithness in the north-east, serving a population of 320,000 people. In 2016–1 ...

History

The hospital was designed by Reiach & Hall using a design solution that has been recognised as particularly well-suited to the local environment. It was officially opened in 1995. When the Scottish Executive looked at reorganising rural health care in 2004 there were local protests: following this there were calls to work more closely with the

Belford Hospital Belford Hospital, locally known as The Belford, is a rural general hospital in Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Highland. History The original hospital, which was financed by a legacy from Andrew Belford and designed by ...

in Fort William. A new

audiology Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various ...

unit was opened by

Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin (born 19 January 1950) is a former Scottish Labour-Co-operative politician who served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Midlothian constituency. She was first elected in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007 ...

, deputy health minister, in 2005.

Services

Since this facility opened it has been possible for a number of services to be run from one location, where previously they had been provided from some smaller facilities located across the district. A range of services are provided and the hospital has 66 inpatient beds and a multi-purpose

day hospital A day hospital is an outpatient facility where patients attend for assessment, treatment or rehabilitation during the day and then return home or spend the night at a different facility. Day hospitals are becoming a new trend in healthcare. The num ...

. There is also a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

-led service to provide

maternity care Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many co ...

. In September 2009 it achieved stage 1 of the baby-friendly accreditation programme. A multi-disciplinary team treats patients who are admitted to the hospital following a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. The stroke team offers continuity to patients from admission to the point of discharge and even into the community, where appropriate. Although plans to offer a

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

treatment service from the hospital have been approved, by March 2014 there was still no confirmation about when this would be operational.

Palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

services are also organised through the hospital after the McKelvie Hospital, a small Victorian era cottage hospital in Oban, had closed 2000.

References

External links

Lorn & Islands Hospital webpage on NHS Highland website
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1995 NHS Highland Buildings and structures in Argyll and Bute Hospitals in Argyll and Bute Health in Argyll and Bute Palliative care in Scotland 1995 establishments in Scotland NHS Scotland hospitals