The new hospital and healthcare facility is one step closer to being achieved.
The outline business case for the new building to replace Balfour Hospital in Orkney has been approved by the Scottish Government.
Details of the £60million project have been published in the official journal of the European Union.
NHS Orkney is seeking a private sector partner to design, build, finance and maintain the new hospital at New Scapa Road in Kirkwall as part of the Scottish Futures Trust’s non-profit distributing arrangements.
The two-storey rural general hospital will provide a mix of surgical, medical, anaesthetic, obstetric, diagnostic, nursing, midwifery and allied health profession services on an outpatient, day or inpatient basis.
It will also house two GP practices, services for children and young people and provide a base for public dental services, the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS24.
The 42,000sqft development will have 49 beds, 34 of which are single rooms with en suite facilities. It will have four maternity rooms with a birthing pool, a high dependency unit, theatres, X-ray suite and CT scanner.
Its A&E department will have facilities for IT remote decision making, and existing outpatient and day care facilities will be expanded.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “This £60million investment demonstrates this Government’s commitment to invest in modern facilities to provide safe, effective and care that is focused on the needs of the patients.
“This project also underlines our strategy of supporting healthcare in remote and rural communities and represents a significant opportunity for the people of Orkney to replace aging infrastructure and support modern and effective models of health care.”
NHS Orkney Board chief executive Cathie Cowan added: “This new hospital will improve the ambience and experience for patients, staff and visitors alike. It allows us to bring back to the island certain services currently available only on the mainland, while providing sufficient flexibility to accommodate any future changes.”
The development will include parking spaces for 300 cars and 40 cycles, and potential partners will be invited to include community benefits in their proposals.
NHS Orkney have organised a bidders day for August 14. A short list will drawn up in the autumn, with the preferred bidder announced in October 2015.
The contract is worth between £180 million and £220 million during the next 25 years.
Building work is expected to begin in the spring of 2016, with the facility opening in summer 2018.