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NHS to turn private hospital into national treatment centre

NHS Ayrshire & Arran Humza YousafNHS Ayrshire & Arran
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf announced the deal during a visit to University Hospital Ayr

A private healthcare hospital has been taken over by NHS Ayrshire & Arran and will become part of the network of 10 national treatment centres (NTCs).

Carrick Glen clinic, which was purchased for £1.8m, will be the NTC in Ayr and specialising in orthopaedics.

The network is designed to help the NHS recover from the Covid pandemic, which has caused huge treatment backlogs.

In February, it emerged the number of people on a hospital waiting list in Scotland has reached 538,000.

Once fully operational the NTC programme will deliver capacity for more than 40,000 additional surgeries and procedures each year.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: "These centres will mark the largest expansion in elective care capacity in NHS Scotland with an overall investment of over £400m.

"We know that the pandemic has taken its toll on services like orthopaedics, but the network of NTCs will help address this and will be central to NHS recovery."

Mr Yousaf, who announced the purchase during a visit to University Hospital Ayr, said the NTCs in Highland, Forth Valley and Fife will begin operating the next 12 months.

A further expansion to the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, will become operational next summer.

Dr Joellene Mitchell, consultant anaesthetist and co-clinical lead for the NTC Ayrshire & Arran, said she was excited about Carrick Glen becoming part of the NHS.

She said: "The NTC aims to create additional access to theatre sessions, increase orthopaedic inpatient beds and improve orthopaedic pathways through a whole scale review and redesign of processes, services, staffing and accommodation.

"It will complement the elective centre of excellence on the University Hospital Ayr site, and will mean that we can treat more patients, reducing waiting times and improving patient experience."

The purchase from Circle Health Group was concluded on 31 March but it will continue to occupy the building on a licence basis until 14 May.

At that point the NHS will take over occupancy of the building.

Consultation between Circle Health Group and the hospital's 11 staff began on 1 April regarding their future employment arrangements.