The transformation of health services in Grampian is being supported by the Health Campus Programme - a range of interlinked projects aimed at redeveloping the main healthcare facilities across Grampian.

 

Graeme Smith, Project Director for the Health Campus Programme and Head of Service Development, explains.

 

The Health Campus Programme

The implementation of the programme will result in the improvement of hospital and community facilities across Grampian. This will ensure that they are organised to support modern healthcare and meet the challenge of treating more people closer to home. 

The changes have been discussed in detail with staff and the public there have been more than 40 public meetings over the last two years. Scottish Government approval has resulted in additional capital funding being allocated to NHS Grampian. The changes are exciting, but much more needs to be done and some difficult choices will have to be made about how we get the most out of the funding available.

The programme is not just about providing facilities which are safe, modern and fit for purpose. The main aim is to use the projects to support staff to provide better services within the resources that are available. Many thousands of staff will be involved and, whilst there will be many challenges, it will be a chance in a lifetime for many to develop new roles.

Healthier places for staff, patients and visitors

It is a top priority for NHS Grampian to make sure that its facilities are safe and healthy for those who use them. In Patient Safety, Elinor Smith explains why this is important and it is the role of the Health Campus Programme to make sure that improvements are made in a strategic and efficient way.  The new facilities being developed will meet the highest standards of patient safety and infection control, for example, in the Emergency Care Centre, most of the inpatient beds will be in single rooms with en suite shower and toilet facilities. Where we are investing in existing buildings, we will make sure the money that is available to us deals with the highest priorities in terms of improving safety for patients and staff.

Specific developments over the next three years include:

• Emergency Care Centre.  A major project costing £110m, to be completed in 2012. This will result in the integration of emergency care services at Foresterhill and provide support for the whole of Grampian. The project will alsoreplace 40% of the inpatient beds at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and include the re-organisation of the whole Infirmary. This will be linked to developments that will provide more treatment and care in communities and reduce the need for admission to hospital.
  
  
• Chalmers Hospital and Health Centre.  A complete redevelopment of Chalmers Hospital and a new Health Centre. The development, to be fully completed in 2012, will provide services for more people to be treated locally and is part of a re-organisation of services in the Banff area, which will include the closure of Campbell Hospital in Portsoy.

 

 

 

• Aberdeen Health Village.  Part of our plans to create capacity in the community, the Village project will provide a wide range of services and facilities. The Village will also provide new facilities to replace outdated accommodation in Woolmanhill and Denburn Health Centre.
  
  
• Foresterhill Energy Centre.  The Foresterhill site will be powered by a new energy centre at the cutting edge of technology by the summer of 2011. The Centre, costing £12.5m, will meet the heating and electricity needs of Foresterhill for the next 20 years, reduce NHS Grampian's carbon output by 800 tonnes per year, and reduce energy costs by approximately £2m per year.
  
  
• New premises for Whinhill Medical Practice in Aberdeen in 2011, which will be shared with Grampian Police.
  
  
• The continued improvement and reshaping of community facilities across Grampian to support the delivery of quality care as close to people's homes as possible.
  
  
• Woodend Hospital.  The role of Woodend as the 'community hospital' for Aberdeen will be strengthened by investment in improved rehabilitation facilities.
  
• Patient safety improvements.  A range of improvements will be made across Grampian to ensure that standards of safety are maintained.