Another Major NHS Capital Project Stopped - Dunoon GP Relocation Project Update

10th March 2024

NHS projects are in meltdown following Scottish Government instructions to halt all capital building programmes in Scotland.

The affects are being felt across councils and health boards.

he delays are supposed to be for two years but inevitably even if they restart cost will be much higher.

NHS Highland release is as follows -

The Scottish Government recently announced that funding for all NHS capital projects was to be paused and we were advised to stop any project development spend and instead funds available were to be focused on the maintenance of the estate and essential equipment and digital replacement.

We have been assessing the implications that this had for the Dunoon GP Relocation Project and we have had further discussions with the Scottish Government as to the £2.9 million capital funding that they were planning to provide for the project.

It has now been confirmed that this funding will no longer be made available and we are therefore unable at this time to move the project forward and the work will now be paused for the foreseeable future.

We are obviously very disappointed by this decision and we know that the local community and our health and social care colleagues in the locality will also be disappointed especially as so many of them have put in a considerable amount of time and effort into this project.

We will be arranging a public engagement event to provide more information to the local community, our staff and key stakeholders and further details of this event will be widely publicised nearer the time.

The moratorium means six out of 11 planned national treatment centres (NTCs) are at risk, according to a report in The Times.

The timescales for major projects, including Keppie Design's £700 million University Hospital Monklands replacement in Lanarkshire and two new hospital projects worth a combined £160 million in Fort William and Wick, Caithness have been thrown into question.

Scottish ministers blame the freeze on UK Treasury decisions to cut the Scottish government's capital budget by 10 per cent (in real-terms spending) for the next five years.

Highland council has some months ago put a hold on 10 schools projects due to budget constraints.