A critical care upgrade at Raigmore Hospital has taken a further step forward with the move of a ward.
Ward 1A, which cares for daycase patients and is also the common admission lounge, is in a temporary home on the ground floor.
This will allow work to start on the first floor making it ready for intensive care and surgical high dependency to move into the vacated area at the end of 2017.
It is the next step in a number of moves in what equates to the single biggest investment the Inverness hospital has had since it was built.
Approval and funding to upgrade the hospital’s critical care service was given by the Scottish Government in March last year with an investment of £28million.
At the beginning of last year Graham Construction, who will be completing the project, carried out invasive drilling surveys to test noise and vibration levels and the oncology ward moved to its new home on the fifth floor.
Doreen Bell, clinical advisor for the tower block upgrade, explained that work on the first floor will see the start of critical care services coming together.
She said: “Ward 1A will be housed in Ward GC for approximately 28 months allowing work to start on the first floor as we look to upgrade our critical care services. Work on the first floor will start within the next month and take about 10 months to complete.
“The upgrade will bring all critical care services, which includes the Acute Medical Assessment Unit, the Intensive Care Unit, Surgical High Dependency Unit, CCU, Cardiology and Theatre suite, adjacent to each other over two floors.
“The operating theatres at the hospital will be refurbished and an additional theatre will be added to bring the total number of theatres in the suite to 10, seven of which will be equipped with specialist laminar air flow, ensuring the air within the theatre environment is at the cleanest possible standard.”
Katherine Sutton, deputy director of operations for Raigmore Hospital, said: “Having critical care services over the two floors will not only allow best use of space and staff but it will also improve patient flow in the hospital and the privacy and dignity of our patients.
“This work and investment will not only greatly improve the facilities but also provides an opportunity to co-locate wards and ensure that first-class healthcare can be delivered in modern facilities for years to come.”