Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Why new Kirkwall care home will open a YEAR late and £325,000 over budget

The Kirkjuvagr House project has been besieged by complications.

The new Kirkwall carte home. Image: Andrew Stewart/DC Thomson
The new Kirkwall carte home. Image: Andrew Stewart/DC Thomson

Health chiefs say a new Kirkwall care home will finally open its doors next May – after a string of delays.

But the under-construction Kirkjuvagr House is expected to come in £325,000 over budget.

The latest update, revealed at a meeting this morning, puts the £13.4 million project nearly one full year behind schedule.

In an update given to the IJB in summer 2023, members were told it would be finished by this June.

So what’s the hold-up with the new Kirkwall care home?

The delayed handover is due to problems connecting utilities, and the need to address “individual design details on-site.”

This followed speculation in the summer that there were issues with the roof when contractors had to remove parts that had been freshly installed.

Orkney
Kirkwall. Image: Andrew Stewart/DC Thomson.

The reasons for the delays were described to the IJB members by Shaun Hourston-Wells, the acting strategic planning lead of the Orkney Health and Social Care (OHAC) Partnership.

Mr Hourson-Wells said that those issues should “progress quickly and there was just a small additional delay.”

However, he also said poor weather conditions have also played a part in the hold-up

What about St Rognvald’s?

The new care home, which is being built on the west side of Kirkwall, will replace the nearby St Rognvald’s House.

The old care facility will continue to operate as normal until the new one becomes available.

St Rognvald’s House in Kirkwall. Image: Google Maps

Mr Hourston-Wells said the same number of staff should be employed in the new care home.

It should also be the same cost to run as the old care home.

It was confirmed today that discussions are taking place to find a new use for St Rognvald’s.

However, no specific options were given to the IJB.


Read more:

Sheila Fleet Jewellery: ‘Our huge bronze Old Man of Hoy sculptures at new Kirkwall shop will make Orcadians proud’

Kirkwall ‘eyesore’ to stay as Scottish Government forbids owner’s demolition plan

Kirkwall Travel Centre bus plans extended as council bends its own rules for cruise visitors

Conversation