£15m hospital plan set for green light

THE go-ahead for a £15 million state-of-the-art hospital serving all of Badenoch and Strathspey is being recommended.

Members of the Cairngorms National Park's planning committee will consider the application for the new facility in Aviemore tomorrow at the village's Cairngorm Hotel.

The deliberations come just a few days after NHS Highland confirmed to the Strathy that the land has now been acquired for the development at the Cairngorm Technology Park.

The site of just under four hectares has been acquired for £550,000 from Reidhaven Estates.

Recommending approval for the hospital, CNPA planning officer Emma Wilson states: "The proposed new development will provide a new, modern health care facility offering much needed up-to-date standards in all areas of community care.

"It will both retain and present employment opportunities in the area to the benefit of the local economy.

"The building is designed to sit comfortably within its context incorporating external finishes to complement its surroundings."

The community hospital and medical practice will feature:

• 24 inpatient beds

• 12 consulting/treatment rooms in Aviemore Medical Practice

• Three minor injuries/out-of-hours treatment rooms

• A new Scottish Ambulance Service base

• X-ray facilities

• Outpatient department with six consulting/clinic rooms, a group therapy room, physiotherapy gym, podiatry and dental rooms

• Allied health professional bases for physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, speech and language and dietetics

• An office base for NHS Highland community integrated teams and Highland Council care and learning staff

The new facility will also include a transport "hub at the hospital" with a drop-off area at the front entrance for commercial buses, community and local transport providers.

Electronic bus timetable information will be provided both inside and outside the building.

St Vincent's Hospital in Kingussie and Ian Charles Hospital in Grantown will close their doors when the new hospital opens.

Concerns over the loss of the long-standing hospitals have been expressed but no community campaigns materialised.

NHS bosses have said that the new facility will be cheaper to run and provide far superior facilities fit for the 21st century.

They have also given assurances that good public transport links will be put in place through local community transport providers. No financial contribution is being sought towards enhancing local bus services for the site.

Ms Wilson states in her report: "The building is of contemporary design and will be made up of three forms connected by a central, flat roofed element."

GP, dental, and out patients services will be located at the north 'front' of the hospital. The urgent care centre, ambulance base and mortuary will be located to the rear to the south west of the building.

The in-patient wards will be located to the rear south east to take advantage of the more secluded area of the site.

The main car park will have provision for 103 cars including six disabled spaces with two separate parking areas for 25 cars for staff.

There were no letters of objection to the application and Aviemore Community Council expressed its support.

NHS Highland's project director for the redesign, Georgia Haire, described the purchase of the site as "another exciting step".

She said: "I wish to thank the local communities for their patience throughout the final stages of the land purchase.

"There has been a great deal of interest in the proposed new hospital and health centre. Securing the land will allow us to proceed with contract close and construction of the new build once the full business case has been approved."

NHS Highland's clinical lead for the redesign, Dr Boyd Peters, said: "We have been on this journey since 2012 and the land purchase is a significant step towards securing much needed modern healthcare facilities for the population of Badenoch and Strathspey."

Highland Council convener Bill Lobban said: "This whole process is more than just bricks and mortar; it's about improving local access to quality clinical services for the people of Badenoch and Strathspey, and this site purchase is a great step forward by NHS Highland to achieving this."

The new hospital is being designed and built by hub North Scotland Ltd, an initiative set up by the Scottish Futures Trust.

Balfour Beatty is the main contractor working alongside architectural firms Oberlanders based in Edinburgh and Portree-based Rural Design – and engineering firms Waterman Group and Rybka.

The full business case for the project is scheduled to be presented to the Scottish Government in early 2019, with the construction of the hospital commencing once this is approved.

The hospital was first mooted in 2011. NHS Highland has said its annual running costs will be around £2m compared to £3.2m for the two current hospitals.

Related article:
'Healthy future' ahead as hospital plans are lodged

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