NHS Grampian report reveals no opening date yet for Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre
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NHS Grampian is still to reveal when the new Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre will open their doors to patients.
The two new facilities, located next to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, were due to be completed in 2020 but have fallen victim to construction delays and soaring costs.
It was initially said that the new hospitals would cost £120 million but since then it has more than doubled to £261m, and it could be set to rise yet again.
Redesign work will need to be carried out at both sites after concerns about water and ventilation systems had been raised by infection control experts.
A report to go before the NHS Grampian Board tomorrow explains that steps had been taken to address the issues.
The discussion comes as SNP health chief Michael Matheson said there was no extra money for the projects.
The work will see 170 sinks removed from both buildings and ventilation systems will be tested to ensure they are suitable.
Additional walls and corridors will be added to the Anchor’s open plan treatment area.
Improvements will also need to be made to operating theatres within the new hospitals.
Baird Family Hospital and ANCHOR Centre project director Garry Kidd, explained that the changes are needed to ensure the buildings are “capable of providing contemporary healthcare services to high standards of quality and safety”.
Advice from the Infection Prevention & Control Team (IPCT) had been considered, however it seems it hasn’t gone entirely to plan.
The report states that it had “not been possible to achieve consensus on all issues”.
But the project board have since given the go-ahead to a number of recommendations that will allow construction to continue.
NHS Grampian is now “engaging closely” with a contractor to ensure the issues can be fixed without causing any further delays or a hike in cost.
An update on the revised project timescales and cost is expected to be given to the board when they meet again next month.
Once complete, the Baird Family Hospital will be home to Aberdeen’s new maternity hospital.
It will also offer breast screening services and a neonatal unit.
Meanwhile, the Anchor Centre will provide haematology and oncology services.
