An Aberdeenshire town’s long-awaited new health complex will finally open later this month.
Inverurie’s health and social care hub will welcome its first visitors at a special open day on August 18, two weeks before patients start arriving.
Based at the same site as the existing Inverurie Community Hospital, the new £14.7 million facility will provide additional services to the local region, including dental surgery and a community maternity unit.
In addition, the centre will offer diagnostic and treatment services such as X-ray and cardiology, as well as physiotherapy, ultrasounds and speech and language therapy.
But although most of the services will be ready for patients on August 27, NHS Grampian has announced the maternity unit’s opening has been delayed until the end of the year.
It will initially only be open for staff training.
The new building will also house the Inverurie Medical Group, which serves 24,500 across the town and the wider area.
And to ensure the health centre is future-proof, it has been designed to accommodate an estimated 30,000 patients within five years, with 38 consulting rooms – almost double that of the current GP practice.
Clare Houston, project manager for NHS Grampian said: “We are thrilled to have finally got to this point – it’s been a huge amount of work for everyone involved but, I think, when people see what a wonderful facility we now have on our doorstep, it will all have been worth it.
“This is a facility that the community have wanted in Inverurie for a long time, so it will be a special day when we are finally open for business at the end of the month.
“From the start, the project has been about more than just providing a new building – we’ve worked hand in hand with the local community to make sure the facility will be at the heart of local health and social care for generations to come.
“The range of services on offer from across the health and social care spectrum is impressive, and it will make a real difference to people.
“As a project team we are extremely proud to have been involved in helping deliver such a wonderful facility, and we can’t wait to give people a sneak peek.”
The public will be invited to see the new facility on August 18, between 10am and noon, and between 2pm and 4pm.
