Dust was spotted on the floor of theatres resulting in a number of postponements of surgery while the area was deep cleaned.

Katherine Sutton, Deputy Director of Operations for Raigmore Hospital, said: “Construction work as part of the theatre upgrade has resulted in an increased level of dust being tracked into the theatre block.

“We are confident that the measures we are putting in place including enhanced cleaning and a review of all theatre protocols will ensure that we will soon be able to return to normal operating at Raigmore.

“These measures have been put in place to ensure that there is no risk to patient safety.

“I would like to apologise to our patients for the inconvenience that this will have caused them and to assure them that we plan to re-book their procedures as soon as possible.”

A £28m three-year refurbishment programme started at the hospital in July 2016 overseen by Graham Construction.