Thousands of people successfully fought to save services at Lochaber’s Belford Hospital in Fort William 20 years ago. This Saturday, campaigners are asking locals to do the same again, but this time to help get a new hospital finally built.
"We want a new hospital, and we want it now," said campaigner Patrician Jordan from the Lochaber Health and Social Care Redesign Stakeholders’ Group: "We need a replacement for the present Belford which is no longer fit for purpose."
The ’Back the Belford build’ rally and march, campaigning for work on a new Belford hospital in Caol to resume, starts at 11am on Saturday March 16 at The Parade in Fort William, overlooking the current Belford Hospital which opened in 1964.
"We invite people to come to this rally and march as an expression of their concern for the Belford and support for a new hospital," appealed fellow campaigner John Hutchison. "We are calling on all political parties to work together."
"The Belford Hospital is the busiest of the six rural general hospitals in the Highlands and Islands, and is the only one that has not been renewed in the past 40 years," said another campaigner David Sedgwick, a consultant at the Belford for 21 years, now retired.
"The staff have put up with all the constraints of the present building knowing a new hospital was imminent, and to have that taken away now is a real blow to their morale. It is important the design process is continued, and that the long-overdue new hospital in Fort William is designed and built as soon as possible."
Since Mr Sedgwick was appointed in 1992, seven Highland hospitals have been rebuilt: Invergordon, Nairn, Migdale Hospital in Bonar Bridge, a new A&E department in the then 10-year-old Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, Lorn and the Isles District Hospital in Oban, Aviemore Hospital, and Broadford Hospital on Skye.
In 2014 a process began to look at building a new Belford Hospital and re-organise care services in Lochaber.
A site on the Blàr Mòr was bought by The Highland Council. On December 16, 2023, 1:250 scale plans of the new hospital with computer-simulated models were shown, inspiring "great optimism", Mr Sedgwick said.
But in January this year, a 10 per cent cut to the Scottish Government budget led it to pause spending on capital projects, including NHS Highland’s new Belford hospital, while it re-calculated which ones it could afford in a revised programme.
"Angry and disappointed" campaigners called it a "disastrous setback", and exhorted NHS Highland (NHSH) not to stop work now but complete crucial milestones so a new hospital could be "shovel ready" when funds become available again.
They called a ’Day of Action’ for March 16, urging ministers and health chiefs to find funds for the project’s continuation. "Design work must continue to take the project to RIBA Stage 3, which will allow discussions to start with the planners in April," they said. "We want NHSH to be funded by the Scottish Government to continue with external consultants to allow the Outline Business Case to be completed by October as scheduled."
On the day, Lochaber Senior Pipe Band will start playing in Cameron Square and then march up the High Street to The Parade, where the rally starts at 11am, having been entertained by Lochaber Swing Band.
The speakers include MSPs Kate Forbes (SNP), Rhoda Grant (Lab), and Jamie Halcro Johnston (Con), councillor Angus MacDonald (LD), and campaigners Patricia Jordan and David Sedgwick. People will then be invited to the march behind the pipe band, back along the High Street to Gordon Square. Duncansburgh Church will be open for people to use the facilities.
Mr Sedgwick told us why a new hospital is needed: "The hospital is based in the Outdoor Capital of the UK, with many people coming to the area to pursue ‘adrenaline-rich’ challenging sports which can lead to injuries.
"The population of Lochaber triples between Easter and the end of October from 20,000 to 60,000.
"The A&E department sees approximately a third of the number of new attendances seen at Raigmore in a very confined space."
There is a need for a place of safety in the A&E department for vulnerable patients, a second operating theatre, and more single rooms, he added.
"MRI scanning will also need to be provided for investigations as it is increasingly being used in the routine investigation of patients’ cancer, brain and spinal injuries, more complicated bowel and gall bladder problems, as well as bone and joint disorders.
"Raigmore Hospital is two hours away from Fort William, and the Glasgow hospitals are two and a half to three hours away. Patients should not be expected to travel such distances for routine investigations, treatment and procedures.
"The new hospital will also be an attraction in the recruitment of new healthcare workers to Lochaber.
"We hope the Scottish Government will listen to the call of the people of Lochaber to find the funding to continue the design and planning process. We also hope the board of NHS Highland will prioritise this project in their negotiations with Scottish Government."
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