Funding to replace the Belford Hospital in Fort William has finally been promised in a Scottish budget which promises to invest almost £200 million to bring down NHS waiting times in regions including the Highlands and Grampian.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison set out her budget at Holyrood on Wednesday which included a “record” £21 billion for health and social care.
As well as day-to-day spending, she announced cash for the new Highland hospital, which was put on hold early this year due to budget pressures.
Now, the final stages of design work can proceed with NHS Highland making the project shovel-ready as soon as possible.
The budget also includes:
- £150m boost for Aberdeen offshore energy centre.
- £20m for Shetland and Orkney to improve ferries and consider tunnels.
- Cash for town centres including Drumnadrochit.
The finance secretary said almost £200m will be invested in the NHS to reduce waiting times and improve capacity across Scotland.
The cash will also be used to reform the service and make it more efficient.
She promised that by March 2026, no one will wait longer than a year for a new outpatient appointment, inpatient treatment or day case treatment.
The SNP government made a similar promise in 2022 to do this by September 2024.
It comes as NHS Grampian battle with extreme pressures which led to a “critical incident” being declared at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary last week.
Some patients were redirected to hospitals in Dundee and Inverness.
Belford Hospital funding
Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said the Belford announcement is “tremendous news” for the region.
She added: “The people of Lochaber have waited 25 years for a new hospital, since it was first promised in the 90s.
“Over the last couple of years, progress has finally accelerated with extensive support for the new plans – and I am delighted that Scottish Government funding will now drive it forward.”
But Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra said today’s budget “lands in the midst of a rapidly escalating crisis in our NHS”.
He added: “From Aberdeen to Glasgow and everywhere in between. The frost has barely bitten when the predictable, indeed predicted, crisis is unfolding.”
Meanwhile, there was more investment for the Highlands with Ms Robison confirming regeneration funding of £62m to invest in town centres, including Drumnadrochit.
Budget documents show this is for a project related to Glance Urquhart Public Hall.
And there was £20m one-off capital funding for Orkney and Shetland Islands councils to enable them to sustain and improve inter-island transport links like ferries, flights or explore tunnels and bridges.
Orkney Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said new vessels are “long overdue”.
He added he looks forward to seeing how the funding might “unlock the impasse on this vital issue”.
Offshore wind investment
The finance secretary said capital funding of £150m will be set aside to support the offshore wind sector.
Ms Robison announced a new wind energy centre will be created in Aberdeen to speed up offshore investment, as revealed by the P&J on Tuesday morning.
“Aberdeen is perfectly placed to become a global hub for green energy”, she said.
Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said the new centre is a “vote of confidence” in the region.
But said it must be backed up with “more funding to drive the transition”.
Conversation