£60m DEARER AND DELAYED
Major snags at health campus development
THE estimated cost of a new maternity hospital and cancer centre in Aberdeen has risen by almost £60million and will open later than planned.
The Baird Family Hospital and The ANCHOR Centre Project were originally priced at £163.7million.
NHS Grampian said the estimated cost of the development at the Foresterhill Health Campus in Aberdeen is now £223.6million.
The facilities were originally due to start welcoming patients next year but the ANCHOR Centre is now expected to open in 2022 and the Baird in 2023.
Board papers attributed the increase to factors including market conditions and inflation across the construction sector, and said earlier budget planning “did not sufficiently reflect the complexity of the project”. The health board said another factor in the setback was a design review launched after construction issues led to safety concerns at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in
Glasgow and the new children’s hospital in Edinburgh.
The NHS Grampian board approved the plans on Thursday and Scottish Government approval is now needed.
Professor Mike Greaves, clinical lead for ANCHOR, said: “The
ANCHOR Centre will provide much needed state-of-the-art facilities for patients with cancer and disorders of the blood and bone marrow.”
Dr Mike Munro, consultant neonatologist, clinical lead for The Baird Family Hospital, said: “I am delighted that this stage of the project has been reached.”
The Scottish Government said: “It is entirely appropriate that the project was paused while an independent review of costs was undertaken.
“That review is now complete and, subject to the full business case being approved by the NHS Capital Investment Group, we would expect construction to start shortly.”