the:news

Hospital vision to become a reality

Innovative plans for a state of the art hospital wing and maternity facility at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy have been unveiled.

Work on the new wing will take place on 10 acres of land to the southeast of the existing hospital and is due to start this year. Completion is scheduled for 2010.

The new wing will include an emergency care centre, 13 wards, surgical and medical assessment units, a maternity unit, a women and children’s unit, day intervention, critical care, coronary care, renal and dialysis facilities, CT, ultrasound scanner, x-ray and 11 operating theatres. There will also be provision for additional car parking spaces and greater access points.

Following a rigorous process, Consort, a consortium put together by Balfour Beatty Construction, has been selected as the preferred bidder to build the new wing and maternity unit.

A separate contract has also seen the appointment of Interserve to undertake the refurbishment of existing buildings on the Victoria site and the refurbishment of the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to which will also see the provision ofprovide a state of the art diagnostic and treatment centre.

NHS Fife Chairman, Professor Jim McGoldrick said: “The new build and major refurbishment works will represent by far the biggest single investment in public services in Fife. Work will be carried out both in Kirkcaldy and at Queen Margaret Hospital and will be supported by a range of community facilities and improved primary care services focussing on patients’ needs.”