The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport has confirmed that the construction of the Elective Care Centre, based in Inverness, will ‘commence in early 2020’.
This was announced in a letter to Highlands and Islands MSP, Edward Mountain, who challenged the First Minister on Thursday 5 December about the delays to the project.
The Cabinet Secretary confirmed in her letter that: “Construction was due to start on the NHS Highland project during the latter half of 2019. However, further review of the design of the facility was required in order to ensure that it is compliant with the most recent building regulation requirements and that the centre delivers the best value for money.”
The Cabinet Secretary added that the Elective Care Centre: “will enable new models of care to be developed and delivered” to ensure diagnosis and treatment for all patients is improved.
Edward Mountain MSP commented:
“After a seven-week wait and after raising the issue with the First Minister, I am pleased that the Cabinet Secretary for Health has finally responded to my letter.
We now know for sure that the construction start date for the Elective Care Centre has been pushed back for a second time.
That’s a worrying trend and even more worrying is the fact that the Cabinet Secretary has not confirmed when the facility will be operational.
Patients deserve answers. The Elective Care Centre is critical to reducing waiting times in the Highlands and we need to know when it will be operational.
I have written again to the Cabinet Secretary to ask her to confirm this.”