Health chiefs will discuss the business case for a £22million project to improve health facilities in the north-east today.
Plans to create a better all-round health facility in Inverurie and to relocate Foresterhill Health Centre in Aberdeen have been in the pipeline for years, and could finally move forward today if NHS Grampian’s board members approve their outline business cases.
In Inverurie, the health board want to build a £14.5million complex within the existing hospital grounds to help them cope with the 21,000 patients on the local surgery’s roll.
Under the plans, the centre would incorporate Inverurie Medical Practice, a community maternity unit, a two-chair public dental service and various diagnostic services such as X-ray, cardiology and dermatology.
Patients will also be able to access services such as physiotherapy, ultrasounds, and speech and language therapy.
The business case for the project states: “The existing accommodation is too small to meet the service needs of the current population, has very limited scope for extension and also requires significant investment in terms of backlog maintenance, creation of appropriate privacy, changing areas, etc.”
In Aberdeen, the £8million plans to move Foresterhill Health Centre have been prompted by the proposals for the Baird Family Hospital – which will include maternity, gynaecology, breast screening and breast surgery services, as well as a neonatal unit, a centre for reproductive medicine and an operating theatre suite.
The health centre will remain in the same area to the west of the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, to ensure it is accessible to a community with “significant deprivation and health and social care inequality”.
The move will bring together Elmbank Group Practice, Westburn Medical Group, Boots pharmacy as well as services such as podiatry, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and dietetics.
Board members will hear that both projects have been “bundled” together to be financed under the Scottish Government’s hub initiative.
The deal involves NHS Grampian paying a fee to a special purpose company, who will meet the operating and maintenance standards. After 25 years, the buildings will legally belong to the health board.