An Aberdeenshire charity raised £8,000 at its annual Strawberry Fayre and is now considering the best way to spend their enhanced funding pot.
The Friends of Insch Hospital held a public meeting last month to gauge views on the best way forward for the World War I facility after their dreams of a new-build fell through.
Now, with £400,000 of funds sitting in the pot, the group are considering creating a health centre as an extension to the hospital which would be run by the community.
A spokeswoman for the Friends confirmed a meeting was planned with the NHS next week, but they were not expecting a quick decision.
She added: “These kind of things will take a while. Feedback from our online questionnaire came back very positively towards either a new extension housing a well-being health hub or spending the funds on renovating the existing hospital. No decision has been made yet.”
The Friends of Insch Hospital was set up in 1989 following a campaign against the proposed closure of the local hospital’s maternity unit, and has subsequently raised almost £400,000 through fundraising to either upgrade or replace the entire hospital.
The spokeswoman said: “We remain committed to Insch Hospital and its future and will continue to support the existing facility with the same dedication we have always done.
“However, we do not feel that, with the setbacks they have had, building a completely new hospital in Insch is currently a realistic aim.”
The proposal is for a new facility for the village which would offer different services such as support groups for carers, day care sessions and a lunch club.
The Friends of Insch Hospital held a public consultation session to inform the community of two new proposals for the facility after losing out on £6million in funding last year.
They had hoped an additional investment in a nearby wind farm would also have brought them a regular income.
However, the group was informed the heat network project was not suitable for the funding application and had to pull out of the venture.
