NHS Highland welcomes 'significant milestone' for Caithness healthcare redesign
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The redesign of healthcare services in Caithness has taken another step forward, with NHS Highland describing it as "an exciting time" for the county.
The health board chairman, Professor Boyd Robertson, welcomed the news that the Scottish Government’s Capital Investment Group has approved the initial agreement.
And local campaign group Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) said it would support NHS Highland in seeing the redesign plans come to fruition.
Prof Robertson said: “I’m pleased that we have reached what is a significant milestone for the redesign project. We can now proceed to the next stage which will involve a more detailed development of the service model, workforce plan and accommodation brief.
“We can also appoint design teams to develop proposals for the two new community hubs and changes in Caithness General Hospital and take them forward to planning permission stage.
"This also provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate through our processes and decision-making that we will do what we can to minimise our carbon footprint and provide facilities to support greener choices for staff, patients and visitors.”
Michelle Johnstone, area manager and project director, said: “This is an exciting time for Caithness.
"We have recently held three successful workshops to help us develop the service model in partnership with staff, third sector, partner agencies and community representatives to the level of detail required to confirm the workforce and accommodation needed to deliver the planned new way of working.
“There was some rich discussion and innovative ideas put forward, showing the real power of working in partnership to change the way things are done to benefit the community. I look forward to carrying on this work with local partners.”
Scotland's health secretary Humza Yousaf said: “This ambitious redesign project seeks to modernise all health and social care services available in Caithness, with a focus on prevention and working with partners to build resilient communities to move away from hospital-based care as a default.
“In doing so, we hope to enable the people of Caithness to stay at home, healthier, with access to the right care, for longer.
“The approval of the initial agreement is a very important first step in making this happen and I am pleased the next stage of planning can now begin.”
CHAT chairman Ron Gunn said: "We welcome the Scottish Government's approval which will allow the redesign plans to move forward.
"It is worth remembering that these new redesign plans were born from the Day of Action in 2017 when thousands of Caithness folk took to the streets protesting against the previous plans NHS Highland had for Caithness health services.
"We will continue to support NHS Highland to see the redesign plans come to fruition."
Three site options were given in Wick for a possible health hub. One, adjacent to Noss Primary School, was chosen as the favourite after public consultation.
The Noss location has since been identified by the project team as the preferred site in principle for the Wick hub, while in Thurso only one site was put forward – Dunbar Hospital.
Pulteney House or the Town and County Hospital are the alternatives in Wick.
A spokesperson for NHS Highland said the three sites in Wick will be subject to technical and cost appraisal work, taking net-zero implications into account. This will be carried out this year.
