A major milestone has been reached with the plans to develop a new landmark clinical facility in Edinburgh.
Integrated Health Solutions Lothian has been chosen as the preferred bidder to design, build and maintain the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh site.
The company is made up of construction firm, Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe; architect, HLMAD; finance specialist, Macquarie Capital Group; and FM provider, and Bouygues E&S FM UK.
The development will prove significant in shaping the future of care by bringing children’s, maternity and adult services together on the same site
The project will see services from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children; the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, currently based at the Western General Hospital; and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, brought together in a high-quality, modern facility.
As part of the procurement process a legal standstill period is currently being observed and, following this period, Integrated Health Solutions Lothian will work with NHS Lothian to finalise the details for the new building.
Construction work is expected to start in the autumn, with the hospital becoming operational in the summer of 2017.
Susan Goldsmith, director of finance at NHS Lothian, said: “The selection of a preferred bidder follows an extensive and thorough evaluation process.
“This announcement marks a major milestone in what is an extremely exciting project for the people of Lothian and beyond.
“The development will prove significant in shaping the future of care by bringing children’s, maternity and adult services together on the same site.
“It will build on the existing centre of excellence, creating a major trauma centre and providing opportunities for sharing experience, expertise and research.”
The project is the first acute hospital facility to be procured under the Scottish Government’s Non Profit Distributing (NPD) model and the NHS Lothian team has been working closely with Scottish Futures Trust and the Scottish Government to prepare for the procurement process.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Alex Neil, said: “I am delighted to see the positive progress being made in the delivery of this dedicated new children’s hospital and national centre of excellence for clinical neurosciences.
This announcement marks a major milestone in what is an extremely exciting project for the people of Lothian and beyond
“NHS Lothian has worked hard to get the project to this important stage and I look forward to hearing how they work with Integrated Health Solutions Lothian to commence construction later this year.”
Peter Reekie, director of finance and member of the project steering board at the Scottish Futures Trust, added: “It's fantastic to reach this milestone on such a significant hospital project. Robust project preparation and the strength of the NHS Lothian project team, combined with SFT's simplified NPD programme approach had led to a highly-efficient and competitive procurement.
“I look forward to working with the team and preferred bidder to deliver construction activity later this year, which will be welcome news to many local businesses.”
The new facility will be constructed on the site of car park B at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
