Caithness initial agreement For Two Health Hubs approved by Scottish Government

16th March 2022

The redesign of services in Caithness has taken another step forward this month after the Scottish Government's Capital Investment Group (CIG) approved the initial agreement.
Professor Boyd Robertson, Chair of NHS Highland, said: "I'm pleased that we have reached what is a significant milestone for the redesign project.

"We can now proceed to the next stage which will involve a more detailed development of the service model, workforce plan, and accommodation brief.

"We can also appoint design teams to develop proposals for the two new Community Hubs and changes in Caithness General Hospital and take them forward to planning permission stage. This also provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate through our processes and decision making that we will do what we can to minimise our carbon footprint and provide facilities to support greener choices for staff, patients and visitors."

Michelle Johnstone, Area Manager and Project Director, said: "This is an exciting time for Caithness. We have recently held three successful workshops to help us develop the service model in partnership with staff, third sector, partner agencies and community reps to the level of detail required to confirm the workforce and accommodation needed to deliver the planned new way of working.

“There was some rich discussion and innovative ideas put forward, showing the real power of working in partnership to change the way things are done to benefit the community. I look forward to carrying on this work with local partners."

Cabinet Secretary for Health Humza Yousaf said: “This ambitious redesign project seeks to modernise all health and social care services available in Caithness, with a focus on prevention and working with partners to build resilient communities to move away from hospital-based care as a default.

“In doing so, we hope to enable the people of Caithness to stay at home, healthier, with access to the right care, for longer.

“The approval of the initial agreement is a very important first step in making this happen and I am pleased the next stage of planning can now begin."