This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Galbraith unveils new face of health services for Southern Isles
30/10/1998
Scottish Health Minister Sam Galbraith today visited the site of a new £6 million hospital in Benbecula which will provide better and faster treatment for patients in the Southern Isles.
The new hospital at Balivanich, due to open in 2001, is part of the largest building programme of new hospitals and units in the history of the NHS. The Minister confirmed in 1997 that the project would benefit from public funding, having previously been considered for the Private Finance Initiative.
Mr Galbraith said:
"The new hospital at Balivanich will show the modernisation of the NHS for the people of the Southern Isles. This Government is committed to putting patients first and providing better and faster treatment for everyone whether they live in the city or on an island such as Benbecula.
"The new hospital will replace two outdated ones. I appreciate the sterling service provided at Daliburgh and Lochmaddy Hospitals over the years. But it is time to move on. The new hospital will be more accessible to the majority of people in the Southern Isles, reducing the need to travel and associated costs.
"Our Acute Services Review emphasised the importance of developing better links between the major hospitals and outlying ones. The services which will be offered at Balivanich, supported by advances in telemedicines, will be very much in line with that Review. Geography is a factor in delivering high-quality health services for our isolated communities. But it need not be a barrier.
"This project forms part of the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS and will ensure that the people of the Uists, Barra and Benbecula enter the new millennium with state of the art facilities and equipment".
BACKGROUND
1. Last year The Scottish Office announced that funding of up to £6 million would be made available for the project.
2. The new hospital at Balivanich will comprise 29 beds:
- eight continuing care for the frail elderly
- four geriatric assessment
- two maternity
- eight surgical
- seven general medicine
3. Casualty, diagnostic, dental and ophthalmic services will also be provided. The services will be GP led, with input as required from consultants from Stornoway. The more specialist and complex cases will continue to be handled by the larger facilities in Stornoway or on the mainland, but the hospital's position in relation to the airport will ensure easier and safer transfers to these facilities. Services currently provided at Balivanich Clinic will be incorporated in the new facility.
News Release: 2231/98
30 October, 1998