Centre For Health Science Opens In Inverness

19th January 2009

The completed Centre for Health Science (Ionad Eòlas Slàinte) in Inverness was officially opened today (Monday, January 19) by Jim Mather MSP, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, at a ceremony attended by project partners as well as business leaders and academics. A public open day is also being held tomorrow (Tuesday, January 20).

The £23m Centre for Health Science (CfHS) was developed and is owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

The project brought together a seven-way public, private and academic sector partnership among HIE, NHS Highland, NHS Education for Scotland, University of Stirling, UHI Millennium Institute, University of Aberdeen and LifeScan Scotland Ltd.

The facility is designed to create a centre of excellence and encourage collaboration in education, training, research, business incubation and commercialisation in the healthcare sector.

The Centre for Health Science lies beside Raigmore Hospital and the first phase accommodates the University of Stirling's department of nursing and midwifery, NES postgraduate medical centre, a new library for the Highland healthcare workforce and top class facilities for healthcare meetings and conferences.

Phase two of the centre includes a Clinical Skills Centre which uses state-of-the-art interactive manikins for teaching clinical care, resuscitation skills, minor surgery and moving and handling patients to students as well as the healthcare workforce. A new dental centre has been set up to provide NHS dental care alongside a dental school serving final year dental students from Glasgow and Dundee as well as UHI students studying for a BSc in Oral Health Science.

The Centre for Rural Health is the only research centre of its kind in the UK – a collaborative venture between UHI Millennium Institute and the University of Aberdeen with a mission to advance knowledge of health and healthcare services in remote and rural communities. Developed through NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the Remote and Rural Healthcare Educational Alliance (RRHEAL) has a Scotland-wide remit to explore new methods of bringing high quality education to the rural healthcare workforce.

Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said: "The Centre for Health Science provides state-of-the-art facilities in an excellent environment for training and research, as well as high-quality jobs. It represents a major addition to health science activity already underway in the Highlands and Islands.

"Along with HIE and UHI, the Scottish Government is working hard to ensure we can exploit the full potential of the life science sector and ensure it makes the maximum possible contribution to increasing sustainable economic growth.

"In the current economic climate, it is vital that we use all the tools at our disposal – including European Structural Funds – to help stimulate investment and job creation in this way.

"I wish all at the Centre for Health Science every success and look forward to following its progress."

William Roe, chairman of HIE, said: "The Centre for Health Science is a fantastic building and hugely important resource for the Highlands and Islands. The reason HIE is at the centre of this development is our firm belief that the economic future of the Highlands and Islands is closely linked to the creation of a vigorous knowledge economy and the healthcare and life sciences cluster we now have in Inverness is a vital component."

Professor Alasdair Munro, Centre for Health Science Company chairman, said: "The Centre for Health Science is one of the most important developments in Highland healthcare in my professional lifetime. It brings healthcare teaching, training, research and patient care to a new level and provides excellent opportunities for collaboration between NHS Highland and UHI, other Scottish universities and training organisations. In addition it gives an opportunity for healthcare professionals to engage with each other and with the commercial sector which is so important to our Highland economy."

Patients are now attending diabetes clinics following the completion of the new Highland Diabetes Institute (HDI), a unique partnership between NHS Highland, UHI Millennium Institute and LifeScan Scotland. The Highland Diabetes Institute also accommodates a Clinical Professor of Diabetes and a LifeScan Professor of Cardiovascular Science..

At its heart is a Clinical Research Facility (CRF), the first in the Highlands and Islands and one of only five in Scotland. A dedicated research facility at the CRF provides a purpose-built environment for high quality clinical research. The other four clinical research facilities in Scotland are based in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.

NHS Highland chair Garry Coutts said: "The Centre for Health Science is a tremendous asset for the Highlands. The people who inspired and supported the project should be justly proud of their achievement today. The centre brings under one roof clinical care, education and development creating a wonderful environment for staff and patients. It will help the NHS to attract and retain the talent we need to provide modern health services to people in the Highlands now and in the future."

To ensure all the aspirations of the Centre for Health Science are realised, a small company headed by director Gillian Galloway, has been appointed to co-ordinate all the tenants' activities and support them in achieving their objectives. The company is assisted in planning for further development by a board of directors representing the key stakeholders - HIE, UHI, the universities of Aberdeen and Stirling, NHS Highland and NHS Education for Scotland (NES).

Business incubation space has been created, with offices and laboratories for health-related firms with high growth potential. Anyone interested in business incubation at the centre should contact thecompany[AT]cfhs.eu

Since 2006 lead artist Jacqueline Donachie has worked closely with the design team to extend many of the public spaces of the building with an ambitious programme of contemporary art. Works by Scottish artists Christine Borland, Toby Paterson, Mary Redmond and Jane Dunn are permanently installed throughout the centre.