NHS Grampian stands down critical incident at Elgin hospital

NHS Grampian has stood down a hospital-level critical incident which was declared at Dr Gray's in Elgin.

A board-level critical incident had been declared on Saturday night when A&Es at both Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) and Dr Gray's struggled to cope with demand.

That was stood down on Monday, but remained in place at hospital level in Elgin.

NHS Grampian has now also stood down the hospital-level critical incident, but said pressures remained.

It was the first critical incident declared by the board since December 2024.

The Scottish government defines the status as any localised disruption which results in a board "losing its ability to deliver critical services, or, where patients and staff may be at risk of harm".

The last critical incident declared in Scotland was due to an IT fault at NHS Highland in June 2025.

Alex Stephen, the NHS Grampian executive director on call, confirmed: "I am pleased that, following a sustained effort from colleagues across our health and social care system, we have been able to stand down the hospital-level critical incident at Dr Gray's Hospital."

However he said pressures had not gone away.

Stephen said: "Our teams continue to manage significant challenges across the health and social care system, and demand for urgent and unscheduled care remains high.

"We will maintain our focus - working alongside partners - on reducing delays, supporting timely discharge, and delivering high standards of care."

He added: "Once again, we sincerely apologise to anyone whose care was delayed or who had to travel further for care this weekend."

A small number of patients were said to have been transferred to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness from Dr Gray's late on Saturday.

Stephen thanked everyone who had gone "above and beyond" to improve the situation.