Plans for a major life sciences and healthcare development at Inverness Campus, expected to create nearly 190 jobs, will be unveiled next week.
The new Centre for Health Science 2 – a joint venture involving NHS Highland, the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) – will include a £34 million elective care unit for the north of Scotland.
It will also house a life sciences innovation centre, developed by UHI with £9m of UK Government funding through the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, and a business incubator for the sector, created by HIE.
The elective care unit, run by NHS Highland and occupying the largest part of the two-acre site, will have 28 in-patient beds and four operating theatres, as well as daycare and out-patient facilities.
Understood to be the largest development to date on the campus site at the southern entrance to the city, the new facility is intended to build on the success of the Centre for Health Science, which opened next to Raigmore Hospital a decade ago.
HIE Inverness Campus director Ruaraidh Macneil said: “This is a major development for Inverness and for the Highlands and islands, delivering on a number of fronts.
“It will improve the health outcomes and patient experience across the region, while supporting the ongoing growth of UHI. At the same time, it will also create new commercial opportunities and high-value career options, thereby helping to attract and retain new talent for the region.”
Scotland Office minister Lord Duncan said: “This is fantastic news and I am looking forward to seeing how the campus develops.
“I am sure that the life sciences innovation hub, which the UK Government was pleased to support with £9m funding through the City-Region Deal, will be a catalyst for developing and supporting science and innovation throughout the Highlands.”
A three-week exhibition of the plans will open at HIE’s headquarters on the campus on Wednesday.
