Major step forward for Inverness care centre

A NEW state-of-the-art elective care centre planned for Inverness has taken a major step forward.

NHS Highland has submitted a planning application to Highland Council for the

£35 million project which will include services for knee, hip and cataract surgery as well as ophthalmology outpatient services.

The Scottish Government’s Capital Investment Group recently approved an outline business case for the centre which will be built on a site at Inverness Campus, Beechwood.

The wider project, which is a joint venture involving Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), will also include a life science business incubator and health innovation facility.

The elective care centre, due to open in 2021, will include 28 inpatient beds, four operating theatres and day case and outpatient facilities.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said submission of the planning application was the major next step towards making the vision a reality.

“Construction of the new centre will begin in July/June 2019 with completion scheduled by May 2021 and is dependent of full business case approval by Scottish Government,” he said.

“The new centre will provide world-class orthopaedic and ophthalmology services ensuring patients of the north of Scotland receive the very best available treatment.”

It will be capable of handling 1800 in-patient orthopaedic procedures and 45,000 ophthalmic outpatient visits each year.