Construction work begins on new ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital

Long awaited plans to create a new 30-bed inpatient ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital have finally begun this week.
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An official ceremony to mark the start of the construction of the ward – which is earmarked for patients requiring elective care – is due to take place on Thursday.

Elective care is any procedure or treatment which is planned in advance, usually following a referral from a GP or community health professional.

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Back in 2019 it was reported, due to the elective care system being under increasing pressure, moves were in motion to create a single storey “modular building” to be linked to Forth Valley Royal Hospital to create the new ward.

Groundwork for a new ward being built near the staff entrance to FVRHGroundwork for a new ward being built near the staff entrance to FVRH
Groundwork for a new ward being built near the staff entrance to FVRH

At a meeting of Forth Valley NHS Board at the time, members heard the proposal was currently going through the planning process at Falkirk Council and seven

potential suppliers of the building had been identified.

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The extension plans were part of Forth Valley NHS Board’s Elective Care Development Programme, which seeks to deliver additional capacity for providing elective care through various means.

It had been hoped the new inpatient ward, which will be located at the rear of the hospital adjacent to the mental health unit and near the accident and emergency

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department would be up and running by April 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed construction.

A report at the time stated: “At the outset of the programme, an extension to the hospital was not considered a viable option on the basis of cost. However, a cost comparison for constructing the ward within the hospital footprint, with associated service moves and department redesign, compared to an extension using modular construction methodology, demonstrated an extension could be provided within a similar level of capital expenditure.

“The benefit of the ward extension using modular construction, compared to the ward build in the former rehabilitation area, is that this does not require internal service moves and department redesign and can therefore be delivered more quickly.”

Back in 2019 senior staff from Forth Valley visited the birthing unit at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to see an existing modular building and were very impressed by the quality of the build.

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