Planning underway for £46m hospital

Jan 25 2013 by Ross Dunn, Irvine Herald

Plans for a £46m hospital in Irvine are well under way, with the NHS starting the process to find a partner in the building’s planning.

Businesses are being asked by NHS Ayrshire and Arran to send in expressions of interest for the new hospital which will be funded using the Scottish Government’s Non Profit Distribution Model (NPD).

NHS Ayrshire and Arran are pressing ahead with plans to build the mental and community hospital at the site of the existing Ayrshire Central Hospital.

Jim Crichton, Director of Primary Care and Mental Health Services, said: “This process offers us as a health service, the opportunity to work in partnership with experienced professionals - from a range of disciplines such as architecture, construction and facilities – so that the people of Ayrshire and Arran get the very best facility possible.

“The process will last until approximately the end of 2013. At this point we will ask for final tenders and will be in a position to appoint the preferred company early in 2014.

“We would hope that construction would start shortly after this – with the hospital being completed in early 2016.”

Initial outlines for the site say that the hospital will provide 206 beds for people who need a level of care and rehabilitation that can only be provided by a stay in hospital.

The hospital is also reported to have an energy centre plus installation and the commissioning of mechanical and electrical engineering installations.