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The new National Treatment Centre in Inverness will open its doors to patients for the first time today.

The £48 million specialist treatment facility will host NHS Highland’s entire eye care service, including surgical and outpatient facilities, and will also deliver a range of elective orthopaedic care, offering hip and knee replacements, foot, ankle and hand surgery.

It has been built as part of a Scotland-wide national treatment centre programme aimed at cutting waiting times for patients.

The NHS Highland ophthalmology team at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness got together for the last time on Friday in the ophthalmology area at Raigmore.

Today, they will see their first patients in the National Treatment Centre at Inverness Campus.

Related article:

• New treatment centre will cut NHS waiting lists

At full capacity, the centre will provide 24 beds, five operating theatres and 13 consulting rooms.

Once up to full operation, the site will be able to treat more than 900 outpatients every week.

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