A major milestone has been reached with plans to redevelop the Royal Edinburgh Hospital (REH) campus.
NHS Lothian has now received approval of the Outline Business Case (OBC) from the Scottish Government for the £48m first phase of the development.
Phase one will include a new state-of-the-art facility providing services for the adult acute mental health inpatient service, older people’s mental health assessment unit, intensive psychiatric care service (IPCU), and the new Robert Fergusson national brain injury unit.
David Small, chairman of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital project board at NHS Lothian, said: “This is a very exciting step in the development of this project and we are now within sight of construction beginning later this year.
“The next step is the process is the development of the full business case which we anticipate submitting for Scottish Government approval in September this year.
“We have listened to what matters to people and are confident that the plans will deliver an excellent mental health facility that will open a new chapter in the hospital’s proud 200-year history.”
Meanwhile works to prepare the REH campus site for the new facility will begin this week. Among the works taking place include the removal of shrubbery, a small number of trees and other debris, the demolition of the recently-vacated Scottish Ambulance Service building, as well as the development of a therapeutic garden activity area.
Health Secretary, Alex Neil, said: “I am pleased that plans for this modern mental health care facility have received outline business case approval.
Plans for the new facility reflect the fact that mental health services should not exist in silos, but be fully embedded into community care to deliver better outcomes and joined-up care for patients
“Plans for the new facility reflect the fact that mental health services should not exist in silos, but be fully embedded into community care to deliver better outcomes and joined-up care for patients.
“The new campus, which is part of the Scottish Government’s £750m investment in health infrastructure across Scotland, will also see efficient use of energy, water and waste management to reduce costs and carbon emissions.”
The redevelopment of the hospital site will be undertaken in partnership with Hub South East Scotland which has appointed Morrison Construction as the preferred phase one contractor.
Paul McGirk, chief executive of Hub South East Scotland, said: “Formal approval of the business case is a positive milestone and we are delighted with the progress being made on this project. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with NHS Lothian to ensure that patients will benefit from modern, fit-for-purpose facilities and the community will benefit from investment in the local area.”
The redevelopment is planned to be undertaken in phased stages, beginning with phase one. The projected timescale for completion of phase one is 2016. The whole project may take up to 10 years.
