Health chiefs have been asked to approve a £1.85 million revamp of a disused section of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in an effort to ease pressure on the hospital’s emergency department.
The board of NHS Grampian will meet later today to discuss the proposals which could result in the reopening of two theatres.
The scheme is being proposed as part of wider plans to carry out maintenance work at the hospital, which would result in other theatres being closed for long periods of time.
Health chiefs will be told additional capacity will also be required when the groundbreaking Robotic-Assisted Surgical System, the first of its kind in Scotland, is installed at the hospital.
If the plans are approved, it is expected the theatres will be up and running by October.
The proposals have been welcomed by North East Scotland MSP Richard Baker.
He said: “This sounds to me like the health board is doing what it needs to, to ensure there’s no patient backlog.
“Previously, of course, the board has had to spend money sending patients to other health boards to get treatment, so it’s better to make this investment so work can be carried out here rather than elsewhere.
“It does highlight the pressures our health board is under, and I think it’s important that ministers step up to the plate to ensure they are giving NHS Grampian the resources they need so when they’re carrying out this kind of work it’s not affecting important areas of health care.”
The Scottish Government insisted NHS Grampian was “well placed” to meet patients’ needs.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “This government has addressed the historic problem of underfunding for NHS Grampian. We have already protected and increased NHS Grampian’s health resource budget, which has seen a rise of in the share of the health budget that NHS Grampian receives, from 9.1% in 2006/07 to 9.7% in 2015/16.
“NHS Grampian’s staffing numbers have also increased by over 600 whole time equivalent posts under this government.
“NHS Grampian has received a £51.8m increase to its budget in 2015/16, ensuring the health board is well placed to deliver both a sustainable service for patients in the north-east and the improvements in performance around waiting times that everyone wants to see.”