Agreement on way forward for new Orkney hospital and care facility

A special meeting the OIC and NHS Orkney has agreed that the business case for a new hospital should be progressed for submission to the Scottish Government next year.

This is a key step in plans for a new development that would also include a new 74-bed care facility on a shared site in Kirkwall.

The project, estimated to cost between £53 and £68 million, was discussed on Friday by the OIC’s policy and resources committee and the NHS Orkney board, which met together in public for the first time.

Discussions covered the appointment of external advisors, procurement arrangements, hospital and care home bed numbers, and the development of the layout of the hospital and care facilities. Detailed information on options for access to the site planned for the project at Corse West will be discussed at the next joint meeting.

Under the proposals, the new, purpose-built care facility would replace the 44-bed St Rognvald House residential care home and provide more beds to meet a rise in demand in the years ahead.

A further joint meeting is planned for January 2013 to consider the next steps needed to complete the Outline Business Case.  In the meantime, information sessions will be held for staff and the public, with the dates to be announced shortly.

It was also agreed that consideration of the replacement of St Peter’s House in Stromness should be taken forward as a separate project.