NHS Highland has appointed Balfour Beatty as the Principal Supply Chain Partner for the Lochaber and Caithness General Hospital redesign projects.
Balfour Beatty will take on the role of managing contractor, leading the design and construction processes for the new hospital in Fort William and the refurbishment of Caithness General in Wick.
The two projects represent an investment of over £160m in rural general hospitals over the next five to seven years.
The Caithness General project is also just one element of a much-wider programme of transformational change to adult health and social care services in the area.
NHS Highland’s senior responsible officer for the redesigns, Louise Bussell, said: “This is an exciting step forward in the redesign process in both Lochaber and Caithness and reflects NHS Highland’s commitment to community services and rural general hospitals.
“We have a successful track record of working with Balfour Beatty and this relationship is further strengthened by this appointment.
“We look forward to working closely with Balfour Beatty and local communities over the next few years in delivering innovative, sustainable health and social care facilities.”
Hector MacAulay MBE, managing director of Balfour Beatty, added: “I am delighted that we have been selected to design and deliver the Lochaber and Caithness General Hospital redesign projects.
“This follows our successful completion of the new National Treatment Centre in Inverness, and the award-winning community hospitals in Aviemore and Broadford on Skye.
“We look forward to continuing our successful collaborative working relationship with NHS Highland and providing first-class health care facilities to the communities in Lochaber and Caithness.”
The Balfour Beatty team for the two projects comprises of architects, Keppie Design; Inverness-based landscape architects, Horner + MacLennan; and engineers, Hulley & Kirkwood; Mott MacDonald; and Buchan Associates.
