A much longed-for Aberdeenshire dialysis unit funded entirely by the local community has taken its biggest step forward yet – with construction work expected to begin this year.

Around £1million has been raised to create the Stonehaven Kidney Dialysis Unit, which would be built at the Kincardine Community Hospital.

People from across the north-east have been supporting the cause for years, with countless fundraisers – from beer festivals to marathons – organised to raise enough cash.

Yesterday NHS Grampian confirmed it now had enough to progress with the project and hopes a planning application can be submitted later this year.

It is hoped the unit could be up and running by spring or summer next year.

The facility would serve the whole of south Aberdeenshire, where patients currently have to travel to the busy dialysis unit in Aberdeen for treatment.

It is expected that around 20 people could be treated each day at the new unit, which will feature around seven beds.

Chief executive of the health board, Malcolm Wright, said: “The board are committed to the development of a renal dialysis service at Kincardine Hospital and the business case as been considered by the board’s asset management group.

“We will now be moving formally to establish the project board that will be responsible for taking forward the project to final commissioning.

“The immediate actions that we will be taking forward are in respect of the completion of the design phase and application for planning permission.

“We expect that securing all the necessary permissions, finalising the design and operating details for the new facility and appointing a preferred contractor will take six to nine months.

“This should enable us to move to the physical construction phase in the latter part of 2016, with completion and commissioning by spring or early summer 2017.”

He added that they will be seeking the “direct involvement and participation” of the local community as it takes the project forward.

NHS Grampian could not disclose the full sum which had been raised, but locals said it was close to £1million – which is in excess of the original fundraising target of £750,000.

The health board has agreed to fund the unit’s equipment and staff at an estimated £300,000, if fundraisers can cover the £500,000 building cost.

Peter Newell of the Stonehaven Rotary Club, which has led much of the fundraising, said the whole community had got behind the project.

“We took this on board about three or four years ago,” he said.

“It started off quite small, but we have raised a lot and a lot of other rotary clubs have give us money.

“The unit in Aberdeen is pretty full up. They have other satellite units in north Aberdeenshire, but the south has got nothing.

“The idea is to take the pressure off Aberdeen and to get rid of the hassle of getting into the city. A lot of people are living longer and needing dialysis for longer.”

He added that the group had been “disappointed” with the “slow progress” in keeping the community up to speed with how the project has been progressing.

He said he hopes it will be completed as quick as possible.

Head of strategy and integration at NHS Grampian, Mike Ogg, said: “The fundraisers have done a tremendous job and their commitment, generosity and dedication are great examples of what can be achieve when people work together.

“Our preliminary estimation is that enough has now been raised to allow us to move forward with the next step in the process.

“That will include formal consideration of the proposed new facility and an initial assessment of the potential staffing requirements as well as the ongoing costs associated with it.

“We are committed to continuing to work closely with the community including Stonehaven Rotary Club during that process and hope to be able to make further progress soon.”

Stonehaven Dialysis Unit will “make huge difference” says patient

An Aberdeenshire man who has to travel north to the city for his kidney dialysis said yesterday the new unit would make a huge difference to himself and other patients.

Angus Simpson, of Portlethen, lost one kidney when he was 21 and the remaining one failed in 2014 due to his his diabetes.

He is now awaiting a transplant and currently has to travel north to Aberdeen for his dialysis – a journey he says can take as much as two hours out of his day.

The treatment itself takes five hours, three days a week; with the renal unit itself incredibly busy.

The grandfather said there were more than 20 others in the same boat as himself in the area.

He said: “For people in Stonehaven it is going to be amazing, even for people in Banchory who can just drive along the Slug Road.

“There will be a lot of people benefiting. The Stonehaven Round Table have done a wonderful fundraising job. A lot of people have been getting donations in for it.

“It started three or four years ago, so it is actually quite a short time to raise that amount of money.”

He said: “It is good news. It will be 10 minutes from my house. It will make a huge difference for me.

“The journey up to Aberdeen and back will take two hours at least depending on weather and traffic on the day.

“How I am now and how I was before (dialysis) is amazing. I am lucky the dialysis works well for me, it is not the same for everyone.”

North-east MSP Lewis Macdonald took the case for the dialysis unit to the Scottish Parliament last year.

The Labour politician said: “Local campaigners have raised a large part of the £1m needed to make this happen and they continue to support this fantastic project.

“NHS Grampian have kept their side of the bargain, by progressing this project and now setting out a clear and definite timeline for the new unit to be built, starting before the end of this year.

“Under-funding of the NHS in Grampian is a continuing problem, but it is a credit to both NHS Grampian and the community that a project like this will be made to happen.”