Minister to open new Sutherland hospital

Everyone 'thrillled' with £8m Migdale facility

MIGDALE Hospital in Bonar Bridge will be officially opened today by Michael Matheson, the Minister for Public Health.
The hospital, which was built at a cost of more than £8 million and opened for patients in June 2011, replaced the old Migdale Hospital which was almost 150-years-old.
Lorraine Coe, Community Hospital Development Manager for NHS Highland, explained that everyone involved with Migdale is delighted with the new building and very much looking forward to the occasion today.
She said: “Everyone was thrilled when we moved into the new building and we are delighted to welcome the Minister today. We will give him a tour of the facilities and he will also meet patients, staff and members of the local community.”
Services currently provided at Migdale Hospital include an assessment unit for older people with mental health needs and GP-led beds, offering a range of in-patient services, including palliative care, general medicine and rehabilitation services.
Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson said: “Having the right facilities, in the right place is important to people across Scotland and that is why we are determined to ensure both staff and patients the length and breadth of the country can work and be treated in the best possible surroundings.
“It is fantastic to see the new Migdale Hospital open and treating patients in their local community. “Investment in health is a top priority for the Scottish Government and we have committed to spending over £2 billion on improving NHS infrastructure over four years.”
The new hospital has two inpatient units offering these services. All the bedrooms are single occupancy, with en-suite facilities and the internal layout has been designed so that two of the rooms can be used by either unit to provide flexibility.
It will also continue to provide the physiotherapy and occupational therapy services for both inpatients and outpatients that were provided at the old hospital.
Lorraine Coe added: “The building has been purpose built to create an environment (inside and out) that is therapeutic for patients, including taking advantage of available light and overlooking spectacular views.
“During the design phase advice was sought from Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University and visited other hospitals providing dementia care to try and build on existing good practice.”
The hospital was built using sustainable and many locally sourced materials. A comprehensive recycling policy was maintained during the construction phase.
The new building is also very energy efficient, which make it economical to run. It is environmentally friendly with a low carbon footprint. It has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of B+ and around 70% of its energy requirements come from a biomass boiler.
The 22-bed hospital is located in the centre of Bonar Bridge, close to the GP surgery at Cherry Grove and the Bradbury Centre, which is a day centre for older people.
The Minister will also visit the Cancer Services department at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness where he will take a tour of the linear accelerator facility and see the latest technology being used to improve cancer treatments.
He will also visit the recently opened Alzheimer Resource Centre in the city centre where he will meet staff and volunteers before getting a tour of the facility.
He said: “The new linear accelerator at Raigmore provides quality care to over 700 new patients every year and the Alzheimer Scotland Resource Centre is a great example of partnership working between Alzheimer Scotland the NHS Highland. These are all prime examples of how continued investment in our NHS is benefiting patients, by providing them with quality care as close to home as possible.”