Highland Council have confirmed that planning permission has now been submitted for the North of Scotland Elective Care Centre.
Members of the public are now able to view the plans for the facility and make comments on the design to the Highland Council.
If approved, the Elective Care Centre will offer knee, hip and cataract surgery as well as the full range of ophthalmology outpatient services.
The proposed facility has suffered with delays and was due to be completed in August 2021, however, it is now expected to be operational by August 2022.
It was also confirmed by NHS Highland in May 2020 that the cost of the Elective Care Centre had also increased from £36m to £41.3m.
Edward Mountain, Highlands and Islands MSP, who has campaigned tirelessly for the construction of the Elective Care Centre, commented:
“I am pleased that this project is now moving ahead and I hope planning permission is granted swiftly so that construction begins as soon as possible.
However, I am hugely disappointed that it has taken so long for the project to reach this stage.
Had construction started on the Elective Care Centre during the summer of 2019, as originally planned, the facility would have been ready for patients in August 2021 and the Highlands would now be in a better position to reduce waiting times and the treatment backlog after the pandemic.”
