A site in the Noss area of Wick has been selected as the preferred location for a new Community Hub and Care Village.
The news comes as progress is made in multi-million-pound projects to redesign health and social care services in Caithness and Lochaber.
NHS Highland will appoint a supply Principal Supply Chain Partner (PSCP) next month.
The partner will be responsible for building a new hospital in Fort William. They will also refurbish and reconfigure Caithness General Hospital in Wick.
This is part of a much wider plan to redesign, modernise and improve health and social care services.
A tender covering both projects was issued in January, with a mid-February closing date. Prospective contractors have since looked round Caithness General on a fact-finding visit to gather information for their bids.
New rural general hospital for Fort William
The new rural general hospital in Fort William will replace the ageing Belford Hospital.
Once the PSCP and design team is in place, work on a concept design for the new building, at Blar Mhor in Fort William, will get underway.
Heather Cameron, senior project manager at NHS Highland, is leading the Fort William project. She said: “This is an important milestone in the project to replace the Belford with a new, modern rural general hospital.
“While we are working hard to provide this new building, the new hospital is just one element of a wider project to improve and modernise health and social care services we provide for people in communities throughout Lochaber.”
Diane Forsyth, programme manager at NHS Highland, spoke about the Caithness plans. She said: “The new and upgraded facilities at Caithness General Hospital are necessary. But the main focus of our work is on the redesign of how we deliver health and social care services to communities across Caithness.
“Key components are the delivery of care locally and as close to home as possible, with a focus on preventative care and enabling people to be as independent as possible.”
The Community Hub and Care Village in Wick and a similar facility at the Dunbar Hospital in Thurso are part of the service redesign.
A green field Wick site, adjacent to Noss Primary School, was agreed in principle as the preferred location.
Wick site was best of three
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Caithness and North Sutherland Redesign Programme Board.
Suggested by a member of the public during a consultation exercise, it was one of three potential sites considered. Other options were at the Town and County Hospital and Pulteney House care home.
Following full appraisals of the three sites it was agreed Noss, which is currently owned by The Highland Council, was the most suitable.
This site would pose least disruption to current services and is able to accommodate all aspects of the design brief. It has the potential to accommodate additional “care village” features in the future.
Modernising health and social care in Caithness
Christian Nicolson, NHS Highland‘s Caithness district manager, said: “Caithness is facing significant demographic challenges. The population is ageing with a decline in the number of people of working age.
“The planned care hubs at Wick and Thurso will play an important role in the modernisation and improvement of health and social care services in Caithness. This will bring 24/7 elements together in one place to improve the long-term sustainability of our services.
“All three potential sites were thoroughly appraised and the selection of the Noss site as the preferred location is a significant milestone in this important project.”
A public consultation exercise carried out in Wick in 2019 found 60% of people in favour of the Noss site. The Town and County Hospital site had 20% of the vote, and Pulteney House got 5%.
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