Work to address Central Decontamination Unit fault continues
Published: 07/10/2025 11:03NHS Grampian has apologised to patients affected by the postponement of around 100 dental and 120 elective surgical procedures since Friday as a result of ongoing issues with its Central Decontamination Unit (CDU).
The shutdown of the CDU – which sterilises and prepares surgical instruments – at Foresterhill in Aberdeen means there are not enough sterile instruments available for all theatre procedures. As a result, the health board is continuing to focus on emergency operations, caesarean sections, and cancer care.
Paul Bachoo, Acute Medical Director for NHS Grampian, explains: “Regrettably, some elective procedures have been postponed. We apologise to these patients and their families, recognising the impact that this will have on those affected, many of whom will already have experienced longer waits than we would like for their surgery. If you are booked in and you do not hear from us, please assume your surgery is going ahead as planned.
“It is likely to take several weeks before our Central Decontamination Unit is fully operational, however, the offers of support from many other health boards in Scotland and the efforts and rapid actions of our teams mean that we have plans in place to gradually increase the number of procedures which can go ahead each day. We will be installing new machine washers in the unit as soon as possible to ensure enhanced resilience moving forward.
“We are very grateful to health boards across Scotland for their immediate and positive response in offering the opportunity to use their facilities.”
The re-processing of instruments began last week after an unknown substance was observed on a small number of instruments after they had been through the system. Work is underway and continues to confirm the source of this, which is thought to be related to a fault with a compressor within the system.
The shutdown of the CDU – which sterilises and prepares surgical instruments – at Foresterhill in Aberdeen means there are not enough sterile instruments available for all theatre procedures. As a result, the health board is continuing to focus on emergency operations, caesarean sections, and cancer care.
Paul Bachoo, Acute Medical Director for NHS Grampian, explains: “Regrettably, some elective procedures have been postponed. We apologise to these patients and their families, recognising the impact that this will have on those affected, many of whom will already have experienced longer waits than we would like for their surgery. If you are booked in and you do not hear from us, please assume your surgery is going ahead as planned.
“It is likely to take several weeks before our Central Decontamination Unit is fully operational, however, the offers of support from many other health boards in Scotland and the efforts and rapid actions of our teams mean that we have plans in place to gradually increase the number of procedures which can go ahead each day. We will be installing new machine washers in the unit as soon as possible to ensure enhanced resilience moving forward.
“We are very grateful to health boards across Scotland for their immediate and positive response in offering the opportunity to use their facilities.”
The re-processing of instruments began last week after an unknown substance was observed on a small number of instruments after they had been through the system. Work is underway and continues to confirm the source of this, which is thought to be related to a fault with a compressor within the system.