An impressive new £950,000 ‘health hub’, which brings together a range of healthcare services into the one location for the population of Harris, was officially opened today (Tuesday).
Harris Health Hub was officially opened by Health Board Chair, Neil Galbraith, who stated that he had every confidence that the new facility would be widely regarded as a ‘centre of excellence’.
The new health hub has increased dental provision in Harris, with two new state of the art dental surgeries created – one of which is also used as a training facility. There are also various additional multi-purpose clinical areas for visiting services, including physiotherapy, podiatry, and speech and language therapy. Additional office space within the new facility provides a base for community nursing teams and for community psychiatric nurses. The local GP Practice has also been renovated as part of the project so that the building becomes one multi-purpose clinical hub. The garden area to the front of the building has been developed to provide off-street parking.
The Harris Health Hub was renovated from the old Doctor’s House, which had been empty for a number of years. To enable the Health Board to provide additional services from the building, significant renovation was required to meet modern clinical standards. Despite the extensive renovation carried out, from May 2014, a number of the old traditional features of the house, including the staircase, were preserved to maintain the character of the building.
Dr Galbraith welcomed those present at the launch event to the new facility. He stated: “The best compliment I can pay to the architect is that the new hub is completely unrecognizable from what it used to be. It’s great to see all the facilities brought together and I believe this will be of huge benefit to the local population.
“It is a health facility, but is equally a community facility for the people of Harris, and the services provided here for the community are what the new hub is all about. I really hope the hub here in Harris will provide a model for what we may do elsewhere. I have every confidence that Harris Health Hub will be regarded as a centre of excellence.”
NHS Western Isles Chief Executive, Gordon Jamieson, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the new Harris Health Hub was completed on schedule, providing an excellent new facility for the local community. This project provided us with the opportunity to bring together a number of different services into the same ‘health hub’, which makes services more convenient and brings them closer to people’s own homes.
“It’s great to see the old doctor’s house back in use again and its transformation into such a fantastic looking modern facility. The Board decided some time ago to create ‘hubs’ across the Western Isles. As people will be aware, work is ongoing to create a new ‘hub’ in Castlebay in Barra, we plan to consult with the public soon about the development of a new ‘hub’ in Ospadal Uibhist agus Bharraigh in Benbecula, and we continue to develop the ‘hub’ at Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway. I am delighted that the new ‘hub’ in Harris is now a reality.”
Dental Services can be contacted at the new number: 01859 504 100.
The GP Practice is contactable at 01859 502 421.
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