14 March 2008
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has announced record capital funding allocations of £525m for the NHS in Scotland.
Health boards across Scotland will share £324m in 2008/09 to build 'fit-for-purpose facilities' and to upgrade equipment and IT systems, she said on March 10.
The rest of the £525m will be spent on specific projects in areas such as e-health, primary care and primary and community care premises.
The overall capital resources for Scotland are due to increase to £553m in 2009/10 and to £598m in 2010/11. The total health service investment over the three-year period is £1.6bn.
Sturgeon announced the allocations during a visit to Inverness. Two of the projects funded by the new allocations are in NHS Highland – a new 24-bed community hospital at Bonar Bridge in Sutherland and a new day surgery centre at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
She said: 'These developments will bring real benefits to patients and staff and ensure that first-class treatment can be delivered in a state-of-the-art environment.'
PFmar2008