£2.4 million has been invested in improving NHS facilities on the Isle of Skye in the past year.
A new £1.3 million health centre in Broadford and a £1.1 million dental clinic in Portree have recently opened this year as a result of money invested by the Scottish Government in the area.
The investment has been revealed to coincide with a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Cabinet which is taking place in Skye Monday and Tuesday.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
“Having the right facilities, in the right place is important to people across Scotland and that is why I am determined to ensure both staff and patients the length and breadth of the country can work and be treated in the best possible surroundings.
“This significant investment in health building projects clearly sets out the strength of our commitment to the NHS in Scotland, and will mean that we can provide more sustainable, high quality and continually improving health care services close to home on Skye and across the country.”
NHS Highland Associate Medical Director, Dr Ken Proctor, said: “Dental health is a very important element of our general health.
“The opening of this new facility enables us to offer access to NHS dental care to the population of North Skye and is a step towards ensuring that better health can be enjoyed by everyone living in this area.
“The local dental team waited patiently for this development for sometime and I’m pleased they can now offer first class care from a state of the art facility.
“I’m also delighted that the new health centre is up and running serving patients from Broadford and Strath and in the Kyleakin and Kylehrea communities.
“We received a lot of positive feedback from those who took the opportunity to tour the facility before it opened in June. We also have the added interest of the artefacts that were found on site which I am sure will be a talking point for many.”
The new £1.1m Portree Dental Clinic opened to patients on in January 2012.
Since 2003 the NHS Highland salaried dental service has been the only provider of NHS dental services on the Isle of Skye, delivered from a single surgery in Dunvegan Health Centre and 2 dental surgeries in Portree.
The Portree dental service has operated from a variety of temporary facilities over the years, and the new funding has allowed a new purpose-built facility to be created where three dental surgeries can be located under one roof.
The £1.3m Broadford Health Centre replaced the existing Broadford Medical Practice and opened to patients in June 2012.