Q&A on the new Badenoch and Strathspey Community Hospital
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
NHS Highland has produced an FAQ for people in the local community to help them become familiar with what services are provided, how to travel to the new hospital and other important information.
The Badenoch and Strathspey Community Hospital at Dalfaber in Aviemore will open its doors on September 30. It will replace the two community hospitals in the area - St Vincent's Hospital in Kingussie and Ian Charles Hospital in Grantown.
Here are responses from NHS Highland to some of the most frequently asked questions on the new hospital:
Q. What services are relocating to the new hospital?
A. All inpatient services, x-ray and outpatient services will relocate from Ian Charles and St Vincent’s hospitals to the new Badenoch and Strathspey Community Hospital.
Health and social care community staff and Highland Council children’s services will be based in the new hospital.
The Aviemore Medical Practice will be relocating from the existing building to the new hospital.
The Scottish Ambulance service will also be relocating from its nearby base at Muirton in Aviemore to the new hospital.
Q. What services will remain where they are currently based?
A. Many services will remain in the existing towns when the new hospital opens.
These services include GP practices, minor injury services, physiotherapy, podiatry and dietetics.
Q. How will I get to the new hospital?
A. There will be sufficient car parking spaces at the new hospital for patients travelling by car.
The existing timetable for stagecoach bus service will be amended to include the new hospital as a bus stop.
The Badenoch and Strathspey Community Transport Company will be able to provide community transport service for patients across the strath to
the new hospital.
Q. How will I be received at the new hospital?
A. A single reception service provided by the Aviemore Medical Practice will receive patients and visitors to the new hospital. A communal waiting area will be in place and clinicians will collect patients.
Q. What is the address of the new hospital and health centre?
A. Badenoch and Strathspey Community Hospital, Cairnview Road, Aviemore, PH22 1AJ.
Q. What is the new telephone number at the new hospital?
A. B&S Community Hospital – Inpatients, Outpatients and Community Services – 01479 883 111 (from 30th September 2021)
Aviemore Medical Practice – (01479) 810258.
Q. Is there a minor injuries/out-of-hours service?
A. A minor injury service will be provided Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. Existing arrangements in Grantown and Kingussie will remain in place.
The existing Out of Hours service will be based in the B&S Community Hospital and can be accessed by calling NHS 24 on 111.
Q. Will refreshments be available?
A. Vending facilities for snacks and drinks will be available in the waiting area.
Q. What will the visiting arrangements be?
A. Visiting times for relatives and friends of inpatients will be in line with Scottish Government visiting policy and current Covid-19 arrangements.
Visit the NHS Highland website for the current visiting arrangements.
Q. Is the redesign of health and social care in Badenoch and Strathspey now complete?
A. Refurbishment work at Grantown Health Centre and Kingussie Health Centre will progress once the new hospital opens.
The Kingussie Health Centre works will be complete in November later this year. The Grantown Health Centre will relocate in a temporary basis to the Ian Charles Hospital once vacated to facilitate the refurbishment of the health centre. It is expected that these works will be complete in 2022.
Q. How many beds are there in the new hospital?
A. There will be 24 beds in the new hospital. Twenty beds will be staffed with the remaining 4 beds being available for future demand.
Q. Will there be pedestrian access under the railway underpass?
A. The planning consent for the new hospital makes provision for a contribution toward active travel schemes in Aviemore. It is planned that pedestrian access from Grampian Road / Dalfaber Drive will be improved and the new hospital layout makes provision to link to the upgraded access route via the railway underpass.
This work is being led by Cairngorms National Park Authority, NHS Highland and Highland Council and it is expected that these works will commence after the new hospital opens.
Q. Will outpatient clinics be held at the new hospital?
A. Outpatient clinic rooms and x-ray suite have been provided at the new hospital to accommodate existing and additional outpatient clinics.
It is expected that patients will be able to use the patient focused booking service to book clinics at B&S Community Hospital where available.
Q. Is there an on-site pharmacy?
A. There is no on-site pharmacy and existing pharmacies will remain in place across Badenoch and Strathspey.
Q. Will the new hospital be big enough for future population increases?
A. Provision has been made for 24 GP beds at the new hospital. NHS Highland Public Health calculations have defined that this number of beds will meet existing and future inpatient requirements.
Additional land at the back of the hospital has been procured for future expansion should the population demographic change in future decades.
