Forth Valley Royal Hospital
Encyclopedia
Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert
, with its 860 inpatient beds, 25 wards, and 16 operating theatres, is Scotland's largest ever NHS construction project. Built at a cost of £300 million on the site of the old Royal Scottish National Hospital, it opened to its first patients in 2010. It is operated by NHS Forth Valley
.
The hospital is the first in Scotland to have a Forestry Commission ranger on site, whose job is to encourage the use of the 70 acres (28.3 ha) grounds formerly belonging to the Larbert House estate. It has Scotland's first fully robotic pharmacy, in which robots dispense and label medicines. Uniquely in the UK, the hospital also employs robots to carry out tasks such as removing waste, delivering food to wards, and cleaning operating theatres.
. After a consultation process in 2003, involving 5,600 local residents, it was decided that a new acute hospital should be built to replace the ageing facilities at Stirling Royal Infirmary and Falkirk District Royal hospitals, which were to become community hospital
s.
The hospital, Scotland's largest ever NHS construction project, cost £300 million to build, most of which was provided by a private finance initiative
arrangement; it was built on the site of the old Royal Scottish National Hospital. Originally to be called Forth Valley Hospital, it was granted royal status by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming Forth Valley Royal Hospital. It was hoped the new hospital would be ready by 2009, but medical services did not start to be transferred until August 2010, when the first patients were admitted. The process was completed in June 2011, and the queen officially opened the hospital on 6 July 2011.
The hospital provides services for the 300,000 residents of the Forth Valley area, stretching from Killin
in the north to Bo'ness
in the south. Those services include:
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For the use of staff, patients, and visitors the hospital has several catering establishments including Starbucks
, a Marks & Spencer
Simply Food shop and cafe, and a full restaurant open seven days a week.
The hospital's design was criticised for not providing space for the storage of medical files. It was expected that all files would be stored electronically within five years. In the meantime, the paper medical files were transferred to the site of the old Falkirk Royal Hospital. An old X-ray department at the hospital was decontaminated and converted into a storage department at a cost of £40,000, and a taxi company was contracted to move the records between sites.
The hospital was fitted with large windows to give patients access to views of the surrounding countryside. On clear days the Forth Bridges and the Lomond
and Ochil Hills
can be seen.
Tunnels were discovered during the hospital's construction, thought to have been built to allow wealthy guests staying at Larbert House, built in 1822, to walk to the nearby loch unobserved.
, free for passengers with a train ticket; the station is a 20-minute walk away.
A large car park with 1,500 spaces is provided, free with a maximum stay of four hours. Bicycle racks are provided for those cycling to the hospital.
, part of its 30-year contract to provide cleaning, catering, portering and maintenance services. The robots have their own corridor system and lifts underneath the hospital, and navigate using guidance lasers. They can be called up to wards by staff using a portable computer, and are used for tasks such as removing waste, delivering food to wards, and cleaning operating theatres. To avoid any risk of cross-contamination the fleet is divided into those robots performing "clean" tasks and those carrying out "dirty" tasks, each with their own network of corridors.
The hospital also has Scotland's first fully robotic pharmacy
, where robots dispense and label medicines. It is estimated that in reducing the number of errors and requiring less staff time the system, which cost £400,000 to install, has cut the hospital's drug bill by £700,000. Instead of completing prescription forms, staff on the wards order drugs via computer terminals.
Larbert
Larbert is a small town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is 3 miles from the shoreline of the Firth of Forth and 2.5 miles northwest of Falkirk, the main town in the area...
, with its 860 inpatient beds, 25 wards, and 16 operating theatres, is Scotland's largest ever NHS construction project. Built at a cost of £300 million on the site of the old Royal Scottish National Hospital, it opened to its first patients in 2010. It is operated by NHS Forth Valley
NHS Forth Valley
NHS Forth Valley is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in the Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling area. NHS Forth Valley is headquartered in Castle Business Park, Stirling....
.
The hospital is the first in Scotland to have a Forestry Commission ranger on site, whose job is to encourage the use of the 70 acres (28.3 ha) grounds formerly belonging to the Larbert House estate. It has Scotland's first fully robotic pharmacy, in which robots dispense and label medicines. Uniquely in the UK, the hospital also employs robots to carry out tasks such as removing waste, delivering food to wards, and cleaning operating theatres.
Background
The Forth Valley Royal Hospital was designed by Equion and Keppie Designs in cooperation with builders Laing O'RourkeLaing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1978....
. After a consultation process in 2003, involving 5,600 local residents, it was decided that a new acute hospital should be built to replace the ageing facilities at Stirling Royal Infirmary and Falkirk District Royal hospitals, which were to become community hospital
Community hospital
A Community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. Specific mention of Community hospitals is encountered in the following countries:-- Thailand :...
s.
The hospital, Scotland's largest ever NHS construction project, cost £300 million to build, most of which was provided by a private finance initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
arrangement; it was built on the site of the old Royal Scottish National Hospital. Originally to be called Forth Valley Hospital, it was granted royal status by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming Forth Valley Royal Hospital. It was hoped the new hospital would be ready by 2009, but medical services did not start to be transferred until August 2010, when the first patients were admitted. The process was completed in June 2011, and the queen officially opened the hospital on 6 July 2011.
Facilities
Set in 70 acres (28.3 ha) of woodland, the hospital has 860 inpatient beds spread over four floors, 25 wards and 16 operating theatres. The wards contain a mixture of single rooms or a maximum of four beds per ward section, and each bed has access to a personal television screen free of charge. The hospital contains the region's only Accident and Emergency Department following the closure of the unit at Stirling Royal.The hospital provides services for the 300,000 residents of the Forth Valley area, stretching from Killin
Killin
Killin is a village situated at the western head of Loch Tay in Stirling , Scotland....
in the north to Bo'ness
Bo'ness
Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...
in the south. Those services include:
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- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Diabetics
- Dietetics
- Ear, Nose and Throat
- Gynaecology and Maternity
- Mental Health
- Neurology
- Oral Surgery
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- Orthopaedics
- Orthothotics
- Paediatrics
- Physiotherapy
- Respiratory
- Rheumatology
- Urology
- Wound Management
For the use of staff, patients, and visitors the hospital has several catering establishments including Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, a Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
Simply Food shop and cafe, and a full restaurant open seven days a week.
The hospital's design was criticised for not providing space for the storage of medical files. It was expected that all files would be stored electronically within five years. In the meantime, the paper medical files were transferred to the site of the old Falkirk Royal Hospital. An old X-ray department at the hospital was decontaminated and converted into a storage department at a cost of £40,000, and a taxi company was contracted to move the records between sites.
Radio Royal
Radio Royal is the hospital's in house radio station. It operates 24 hours a day seven days a week, staffed by a team of around 27 volunteers. Founded in 1976, it originally broadcast from the old Royal Scottish National Hospital in Larbert. It was latterly based at the Falkirk Royal Hospital, before returning to Larbert on the opening of Forth Valley Royal.Grounds
The hospital is set in the grounds of the Old Larbert House estate, which until 2002 housed the Royal Scottish National Hospital, a state mental hospital. The 70 acres of land contain a loch, walled garden and woodland areas. The grounds were transformed into a "green oasis" for the use of those using the hospital and the local community with the help of a £101,000 grant from the Forestry Commission Scotland. Forth Valley Royal is the first hospital in Scotland to have a Forestry Commission ranger on site. The ranger's job is to encourage use of the green space and promote healthy lifestyles.The hospital was fitted with large windows to give patients access to views of the surrounding countryside. On clear days the Forth Bridges and the Lomond
Lomond Hills
The Lomond Hills , also known as the Paps of Fife lie in the centre of Fife, Scotland. At 522m West Lomond is the highest point in the county of Fife.-Natural geography:...
and Ochil Hills
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90...
can be seen.
Tunnels were discovered during the hospital's construction, thought to have been built to allow wealthy guests staying at Larbert House, built in 1822, to walk to the nearby loch unobserved.
Transport
The hospital is easily accessible by public transport via bus services operating from the main local towns. A shuttle bus runs every 20 minutes from Larbert railway stationLarbert railway station
Larbert railway station is a railway station serving Larbert near Falkirk, Scotland.- History :The station was built by the Scottish Central Railway, opening on 1 March 1848....
, free for passengers with a train ticket; the station is a 20-minute walk away.
A large car park with 1,500 spaces is provided, free with a maximum stay of four hours. Bicycle racks are provided for those cycling to the hospital.
Robotics
Forth Valley Royal was the first hospital in the UK to use a system of robotic porters. A fleet of 13 robotic vehicles operates with the hospital, supplied and maintained by services company SercoSerco Group
Serco Group plc is a government services company based in Hook, North Hampshire in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
, part of its 30-year contract to provide cleaning, catering, portering and maintenance services. The robots have their own corridor system and lifts underneath the hospital, and navigate using guidance lasers. They can be called up to wards by staff using a portable computer, and are used for tasks such as removing waste, delivering food to wards, and cleaning operating theatres. To avoid any risk of cross-contamination the fleet is divided into those robots performing "clean" tasks and those carrying out "dirty" tasks, each with their own network of corridors.
The hospital also has Scotland's first fully robotic pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, where robots dispense and label medicines. It is estimated that in reducing the number of errors and requiring less staff time the system, which cost £400,000 to install, has cut the hospital's drug bill by £700,000. Instead of completing prescription forms, staff on the wards order drugs via computer terminals.