Final push as ward aims for spring opening
The new children’s unit currently taking shape at Raigmore Hospital is on track to open in March.
A final push is now under way to ensure the Highland Children’s Unit Appeal to create a more family-friendly facility for sick children reaches its £2 million target.
Launched by the ARCHIE Foundation in conjunction with The Inverness Courier, the appeal has £250,000 to go to reach its goal.
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael and Inverness city manager David Haas saw progress on the construction work when they toured the development with ARCHIE Highland board members Jackie Cuddy and David Sutherland.
The work involves the redevelopment and extension of the former ward 11 which was previously used for respiratory patients.
Provost Carmichael was pleased that Highland Council’s resources committee recently agreed to give £50,000 to the appeal from the council’s capital discretionary fund.
It is the second award made by councillors who previously gave £150,000 from the Inverness Common Good Fund to the original appeal to raise £1 million.
"I was delighted to witness for myself the great progress that is being made," Provost Carmichael said.
David Tipping, the ARCHIE Foundation’s project director, also welcomed the progress being made by Morrison Construction.
"The partnership between NHS Highland, Morrison Construction and the ARCHIE Foundation is set to deliver a superb new facility which will make a big difference to the children and their families from all over the Highlands, and to the wonderful paediatric medical staff here at Raigmore," he said.
"The Morrison Construction staff are locally based and their own families may need to use the facilities in the future so there is a real attachment to the project and they are clearly very proud to be building it.
"They understand that a lot of the funding has come from money raised locally by the charity and they have added value by proactively applying good thinking and improving on the original plans.
"We still have some money to raise for the project but I am sure that when the people of the Highlands see what is being built they will quickly help us to finish it, and we are very grateful to them all."
