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Plans Go on Show for Area's £10million Hospital

BUILDING work on Stranraer's £10.2 million new hospital is scheduled to start in the spring. And 18 months later the first patients will be admitted to state-of-the-art wards.

Planning and building warrant consent has been applied for. The Free Press understands that one objection has been submitted. If that cannot be resolved, the planning application will probably go before Wigtown councillors some time this month.

On Thursday afternoon, the plans went on display at the John Niven Centre in Stranraer. And soon after it opened, the public began to flood in to see for themselves what is proposed. On hand to answer questions were Chairman of NHS Dumfries and Galloway John Ross, Alison Burns, local health care manager and Stephen Howie, hospital project manager.

Mr Howie told the Free Press that the aim was to have have the tender process completed by the end of February for a start to building work by Spring with completion by Autumn of 2005.

The new hospital will have around three times as much floor space than the Garrick. Among the new facilities to be provided will be a renal service, enhanced palliative care unit which will include the ability to offer chemotherapy to local patients in the future and a surgical unit. All the wards will be situated on the first floor, with outpatient services on the ground floor.

While the new hospital is being built, the Clenoch Maternity unit will transfer to the Garrick Hospital. That will allow the other wards in the existing Dalrymple Hospital to be moved to the east end of the building.

The new hospital will take up the space left by the former accommodation for old people which has been demolished, together with half of the existing Dalrymple complex.

When it is completed the patients in the remaining area of Dalrymple will transfer and that area will be demolished and the area landscaped.