Outgoing First Minister, Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP, was welcomed to Fife last week to officially open the new Fife Orthopaedic National Treatment Centre.
The Fife Orthopaedic National Treatment Centre (NTC) will provide additional capacity for more than 700 orthopaedic procedures a year including hip and knee surgery, by 2025-26. The new facility at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy includes an orthopaedic outpatients department, three surgical theatres and a ward and short stay unit.
The £33 million centre is the first of four NTCs to open this year which will help address the backlog of planned care exacerbated by the pandemic. Further facilities are due to open at NHS Highland, NHS Forth Valley and the Golden Jubilee Hospital.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
“Our National Treatment Centre programme is a significant investment in frontline planned care infrastructure and is a crucial part of our NHS Recovery Plan.
“We are determined to ensure people receive the treatment they need as soon as possible so I am pleased to officially open the Fife centre, which will give people across the country faster access to life-changing orthopaedic surgery.
“The additional capacity provided through this new state-of-the-art facility will also help cut the backlog of planned care worsened by the global pandemic. With three further NTCs opening this year I am confident this programme will be a significant boost to the NHS as it recovers from COVID.”
Chair of the Fife NHS Board, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick said:
“We are delighted that the new National Treatment Centre in Fife has now opened its doors to patients.
“The new purpose-built facility is the culmination of many years of work and to see patients now being seen and treated in such a new, state-of-the-art environment is fantastic. To see the project delivered successfully and on budget, particularly given the additional challenges of building during a pandemic, is a credit to all of those involved.
“We are fortunate here in Fife to have an incredibly forward-thinking and innovative orthopaedic team and this new facility will support them to deliver the very highest standard of care for patients.”
