Patients and staff move into new Sutherland Hospital

29th June 2011

Patients and staff are today (Thursday 30 June 2011 ) moving into the new hospital that has been built at Bonar Bridge in Sutherland at a cost of more than £8 million to replace the old Migdale Hospital, which is almost 150-years-old.

The new 22-bed hospital, which retains the Migdale name, 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.

Locality General Manager, Georgia Haire, said: "We are absolutely delighted that we are now able to move into the new hospital and I would like to acknowledge the huge effort the staff have made to be ready for the move on the day."

She added that the new hospital will provide the same services as the old one, but NHS Highland is always looking for opportunities to provide services closer to patients' homes.

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 less intensive rehabilitation services.

Ms Haire explained that the aim of the units is to assess and treat patients and, wherever possible, enable them to return home as quickly as possible.

The new hospital has two inpatient units offering these services. The wards have been named Kylesku and Strathy. 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.

Mrs Haire said: "The new building is also very energy efficient, which will 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."

Creich Community Councillor Russell Taylor said: "The new hospital is absolutely delightful and I hope the staff and patients will be very happy in their new surroundings."

And Robertson Highland Managing Director, Raymond More, said: "Robertson is proud of the part it has played in creating this new, modern hospital for people living in this part of North Highland.

"We have an excellent, long standing relationship with NHS Highland and we will continue to work in partnership with them to deliver community focused health care buildings across the Highlands."