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Cost of delayed Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre rises another £12m

Construction of the new Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre in Aberdeen. Its budget has increased by another £12m. Picture by Kenny Elrick on April 13, 2022.
Work to finish the Baird Family Hospital has faced delays. Pictured is the construction site last year. Image: Kenny Elrick / DC Thomson.

Health bosses say Aberdeen’s new Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre is coming in another £12 million over budget.

Members of NHS Grampian’s board are being asked to approve changes to the budget today, upping it to £245m – more than double the original estimate.

However, the bottom line for the health board won’t change, as the Scottish Government is footing this extra bill.

Why is the budget increasing?

Material shortages, price increases and a lack of labourers have been included in the reasons for the cost increasing.

The contractor for the project has blamed these on geopolitical issues, and the likes of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the briefing document going before the NHS Grampian board, construction-related costs are increasing from £216m to almost £228.

The price of furniture and equipment to fit-out the facility has remained steady at £17m.

Ongoing construction at the Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre on the Foresterhill campus.

This increase, from the previously approved £233.2m, is now more than double the original £120m cost listed when the project was first announced in June 2014.

However, no additional delays have been reported and the new facilities will go ahead as planned.

The new Anchor Centre – specialising in cancer care – will now welcome its first patients in August 2023.

Meanwhile, the Baird Family Hospital is scheduled to become operational in March 2024.

It will replace Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, which is due for demolition in August 2024.

Project previously hit by delays

The project has been in the works since 2014, and comprises the largest sum NHS Grampian has ever spent on a facility.

Originally the facility was earmarked for completion in 2020.

But delays associated with rising costs, Covid, the war in Ukraine and Brexit have forced the completion date back another three months.

Concerns around sourcing materials have also played a factor, with the likes of steel prices increasing four-fold in recent years.

Steel prices have increased four-fold in recent years.

A report updating the board on the progress of the project will be published in August.

More health news…

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‘Small price to pay’: Director says latest north-east hospital delay will be worth the wait

Revealed: ‘Hotel-style’ rooms and ‘non-clinical feeling’ for Aberdeen’s £233m new hospitals

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