The health board took the first step in the formal process towards creating at least 10 new facilities on the site by lodging a pre-application notification, including a Foresterhill Health Campus site plan (pdf), with Aberdeen City Council last week.

The plans include a state of the art Baird Family Hospital, the ANCHOR Centre, a patient hotel, a multi-storey car park and a new life sciences centre which will be shared with the University of Aberdeen.

Also included are the creation of a new Foresterhill Health Centre and a replacement for the existing mortuary.

A ‘Green Exercise’ area and extensive landscaping work on the site come in addition to ongoing work to create a therapeutic roof garden at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

NHS Grampian’s board approved an “initial agreement” to progress £120m plans for the Baird Family Hospital and The ANCHOR Centre back in June when it also approved an initial agreement for a new multi-storey car park at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, funded with a £10m donation by the Wood Family Foundation.

The latest announcement is in addition to other ongoing development work being carried out to modernise and enhance existing buildings on the site which has already resulted in a new £13.6m Radiotherapy Department opening its doors this year.

Malcolm Wright, chief executive at NHS Grampian, said: “We’ve been delivering excellent care to the north east at Foresterhill since the early part of the 20th century and, while it has served us well, it is important that we keep looking forward. These new facilities will help us provide modern, specialist care right in the heart of the North East for years to come.

“We have worked closely with patients, the public and staff on the redevelopment plans and they have been very clear about what they want to see. We’ve listened to that feedback and today’s announcement will be welcome news.

“These are ambitious plans and we are making good progress but we should also be very clear that the investment and improvement will not stop there. It is only one part of our overall vision for NHS Grampian 2020. We have a variety of ongoing and planned work that will see us deliver first class additional and upgraded facilities throughout the Grampian area.”

Graeme Smith, director of modernisation at NHS Grampian, confirmed the new Baird Family Hospital will include maternity, gynaecology, breast screening and breast surgery services. It will also provide a neonatal unit, a centre for reproductive medicine, an operating theatre suite as well as research and teaching facilities.

He said the new ANCHOR Centre will provide both out-patient and day-patient investigation as well as treatment services for people with cancer and for patients with blood disorders, including non-cancer conditions.

The plans will now be considered by Aberdeen City Council before further discussions with the planning authority and public engagement on the proposals.

Details on the projects are as follows:

Baird Family Hospital

It is anticipated that work will start during the first quarter of 2018 and the building will be in the region of 20,000 m₂ in size. Given the scale of this building, it is expected that it will be complete and ready for occupation during the course of 2020.

ANCHOR Centre

The ANCHOR Centre will be in the region of 6000 m₂ and, like The Baird Family Hospital, will be open for patients during 2020.

Foresterhill Health Centre

The site chosen for the Baird Family Hospital requires the existing Foresterhill Health Centre to relocate to a new site. The new Health Centre will be required by the third quarter of 2017.

Multi-Storey Car Park

Following a donation from the Wood Foundation a new multi-storey car park on the Foresterhill site will provide an additional 1000 car parking spaces. The multi-storey car park is expected to be ready to open to visitors and patients before the completion of any other projects. Timescale for completion 2nd quarter 2016.

Key Worker Accommodation

Working in partnership with Grampian Housing Association, NHS Grampian wishes to develop key worker accommodation. Timescale for completion 4th quarter 2017.

Energy Sub-Station

A Carbon Energy Fund Scotland (CEFS) initiative to further reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs. The new sub-station is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Completion estimates are yet to be calculated for the following projects which are included in the Pre Application Notification (PAN): Life Sciences Centre, Patient Hotel, Mortuary Facilities, Green Exercise Partnership.