Raigmore Hospital facilities 'are not sustainable as they stand'
A Highland MSP believes replacing Raigmore Hospital in Inverness should be a top priority for Scottish Government.
Tory representative Edward Mountain has already collected more than 500 signatures showing support for his campaign for a brand new acute general teaching hospital for the Highlands.
It comes as he received a message from NHS Highland chief executive Pam Dudek, he wrote requesting for initial proposals for replacing or fully refurbishing the Raigmore site to be presented to the board.
She stated in reply: “With regards to Raigmore, we absolutely recognise the age of the facility and that for the longer term these facilities are not sustainable as they stand.
"We are currently in the process of completing our outline business cases for Lochaber and Caithness redesigns with the aim of care closer to home central to the planning. This in itself will determine what is needed in a more acute and specialist setting for the future.
"We will be moving forward with developing a clearer understanding of what that might be in terms of a range of services and therefore what a future facility needs to look like and, as such, the planning required.”
Mr Mountain said: “The First Minister, the cabinet secretary for health and now NHS Highland all agree – the current Raigmore Hospital is not fit for the future.
“I welcome NHS Highland’s response today and their assurances that a new facility would be designed to work in partnership with our more local and rural hospitals too. It is vital that the correct balance is struck so that communities receive as much care as possible closer to home.
“When it comes to replacing Raigmore, I believe the Highlands needs an acute general teaching hospital and this should be the number one priority for the Scottish Government when it announces its funding plans for new hospitals in 2025.
“500 people and counting have signed my petition so far and I intend to collect more signatures when I embark on my summer surgery tour, beginning this Wednesday in Strathpeffer.
“Together we can build the momentum for a brand new hospital for the Highlands and convince the Scottish Government to back this proposal when they set out their funding plans for new hospitals two years from now.”
