Latest phase of £30 million Raigmore Hospital upgrade completed
The latest phase in a £30 million three-year project to upgrade Raigmore Hospital in Inverness was completed last week with the transfer of patients from Ward 11 to newly-refurbished wards on the main building’s seventh floor.
The move reflects a long-held ambition to have the hospital’s respiratory patients managed in the main tower block, bringing them closer to other specialities.
Meanwhile, the ward they have vacated has been opened for temporary use as a community ward, providing high standards of care for adults who no longer require acute hospital services but are not able to be discharged from the Raigmore site for a number of reasons.
This ward will be managed in the model of a community hospital by NHS Highland’s south and mid operational unit (the rest of the hospital is managed by the Raigmore operational unit) but with very close working between the units.
This short-term measure, which was taken to help improve the flow of patients during what has been a particularly busy time at Raigmore, is likely to be in place until the end of March.
Lead nurse in the south and mid operational unit Kate Patience Quaite said: "We transferred patients into the new community ward last week and are pleased with how things have gone.
"We have worked very closely with patients, families and colleagues in Raigmore to make this happen and can see many benefits of this approach."
On the relocation of Ward 11 to Wards 7A and B, lead consultant respiratory physician Dr Stephen Thomas said: "The move, which involved a great deal of hard work for those involved, went as smoothly as could have been hoped and the patients and staff have said they are very pleased with the new facilities."
This week’s changes follow a series of ongoing improvements being carried out at the hospital.
Significant work has already taken place on the seventh floor, 5C (vascular/urology) and 4A (surgical admissions), as well as some wards on the ground floor and the provision of a new, state-of-the-art endoscopy unit.
Work is presently underway within Ward 5A which will allow the re-location oncology ward in the spring.
Progress has also been made on replacing or reinforcing some of the infrastructure that supports the hospital, including the provision of a new, £3 million biomass heating plant.
Other planned works include proposals to locate the hospital’s critical care facilities – including the Acute Medical Assessment Unit, the Intensive Care Unit and the theatres – and the admissions area together on the first floor.
NHS Highland has submitted a business case to the Scottish Government for this work, which would yield a range of benefits, not least in that in would bring these services together as well as closer to the emergency department and diagnostics (CT, MRI, X-ray), as well as easier access for patients coming in by ambulance.
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The critical services upgrade project will also incorporate the programme of fire improvement upgrades which has been implemented across a number of wards in the tower block since 2012/13 and is expected to run until 2017/18.
The construction works will commence following the Scottish Government approval of the full business case, which is currently programmed for summer 2015, and the granting of planning consent.
During the construction, the intention is for the hospital to continue to operate as normal, and measures will be put in place to minimise disruption to clinical services.
Another major project in the offing is in the development of a new children’s unit, made possible through significant funding from the Archie Foundation. Work on it will get under way in the spring.
Interim director of operations at Raigmore Linda Kirkland said: "The hospital has been on its current site for 30 years now. While it is not at the stage of needing to be replaced, significant work is required to upgrade it, and is being carried out, across all clinical areas.
"The investment of more than £30 million over three years will greatly improve the facilities, provides an opportunity to co-locate wards and ensure that we can deliver first-class healthcare in modern facilities for years to come."
