Landmark ceremony for island community
The start of construction work on the new £20 million Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross community hospital at Broadford has been marked with a turf cutting ceremony.
The 24-bed facility is being delivered by hub North Scotland on behalf of NHS Highland with Balfour Beatty as our main contractor and is due for completion in 2021.
NHS Highland’s interim chairman, Professor Boyd Robertson, welcomed stakeholders and partner agencies, members of the steering group, local politicians, councillors and representatives of the design team to the event.
The actual turf cutting was performed by 104-year-old local resident Mary Macpherson, assisted by Skye MSP Kate Forbes, Professor Boyd Robertson and David Newton and Gary Dunn from Balfour Beatty.
The new hospital is being constructed between the current the Dr Mackinnon Memorial Hospital and the Broadford Health Centre as part of a redesign of health and social care services on Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross (SLSWR).
Professor Boyd Robertson, said: “The new hospital will be a pivotal part of our programme of modernisation and transformation of the delivery of healthcare in the area. We look forward eagerly to providing the high-quality sustainable services that the community deserves.”
Michael Padzinski, Chief Executive of hub North Scotland, said: “This is a landmark day for the people of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross following a lot of hard work to reach this stage. We are now looking forward to continuing that good work with NHS Highland, Balfour Beatty, who were appointed as the main building contractor last month, and all our other partners to deliver a superb health facility for the benefit of the entire community.”
Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty’s Regional Managing Director of Scotland and Ireland, said: “This event, which marks the start of construction of the community hospital at Broadford, represents a significant milestone in our partnership with Hub North Scotland and NHS Highland.”
Working alongside hub North Scotland and Balfour Beatty are architectural firms Edinburgh-based Oberlanders and Portree-based Rural Design along with engineering firms Waterman Group and Rybka.
The new hospital is part of a £40 million “bundle” agreement between hub North Scotland and NHS Highland which also includes construction of the new Badenoch & Strathspey Community Hospital and Health Care Centre in Aviemore.