NHS Grampian has reopened a decontamination unit months after an “unknown substance” was found on sterile surgical tools after they had been processed. A fault was found with the Foresterhill Central Decontamination Unit, which washes, disinfects and sterilises surgical instruments. Concerns were raised during a routine service at Foresterhill Central Decontamination Unit, which washes, disinfects and sterilises surgical instruments, and a small number of instruments were found to be contaminated after processing. On Friday, NHS Grampian announced that the unit has reopened and restored full sterilising capacity after months of refurbishment. We’re grateful to teams within NHS Grampian and around the country for their hard work, and for everyone’s patience as we’ve worked through this.