NHS Forth Valley – National Treatment Centre

National Treatment Centre – Forth Valley

Work is underway to develop a new National Treatment Centre at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. The construction of a new inpatient ward marks the final stage in the development which will form part of a network of new treatment centres developed across NHS Scotland to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.

This major national investment has also funded the opening of two additional operating theatres (bringing the total number to 16) and the installation of a second state-of-the-art MRI scanner at the Larbert hospital. This has increased surgical and diagnostic capacity and created more flexibility for managing both planned and emergency surgery. The specialist MRI scanner, which is used to take images of all parts of the body including the brain, spinal cord, heart and blood vessels and internal organs, is housed in a customised room within the hospital’s Radiology Department, complete with backlit picture wall and ambient lighting to help patients relax in calming and less clinical surroundings.

Work continues to complete the construction of a new 30 bed ward, the final stage in the development of the National Treatment Centre – Forth Valley. This is being developed at the rear of the hospital between the Mental Health Unit and the Emergency Department and will create extra inpatient capacity to care for the increasing numbers of patients who require orthopaedic surgery. Along with the additional theatres and MRI scanning capacity, it will enable up to 1,500 additional operations to be carried out every year (mainly hip and knee joint replacement surgery), supporting the delivery of local and national plans.

Although the completion of the new ward has been delayed, good progress has been made and work continues with work NHS Scotland Assure and other partners to resolve any outstanding issues or concerns. The aim is to have the new inpatient ward operational at the earliest opportunity, however, in the meantime, patients from other Health Boards are already being treated for a range of specialities in the additional two operating theatres at Forth Valley Royal Hospital with the support of the additional staff who have been recruited to support the delivery of the new National Treatment Centre – Forth Valley.