£842M Hospital Site Handed Over

Services will begin transferring to Scotland's newest - and largest - hospital in April.

The £842 million South Glasgow University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children is expected to be fully operational by the middle of June, health chiefs have announced.

The 1,109-bed facility on the site of the Southern General will be one of the largest acute hospitals in the UK and home to several specialist services.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has officially taken ownership of the complex following a ceremonial handover from contractors Brookfield Multiplex.

The health board said the landmark project has been delivered under budget and five weeks ahead of schedule.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: This development has been Scotland's biggest-ever hospital building project, so bringing this in ahead of time and under budget is a real achievement in itself.

This project will provide patients with access to services for all ages on a single site - bringing with it increased efficiency, shorter waiting times and better continuity of care.

It is part of over £2 billion of government investment in Scotland's health infrastructure over the spending-review period, demonstrating our commitment to providing modern, state-of-the-art NHS facilities for patients.

This major development will transform healthcare for patients and staff, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the hospital campus up-and-running and welcoming patients in the summer.''

Following the building handover, work will begin to fit the hospitals out and make them ready to receive staff and patients.

This includes the installation of almost £40 million of new equipment including anaesthetic machines, defibrillators and digital scanners.

The complex will be kitted out with 12,000 dispensers for soap, hand gel and paper towels.

NHSGGC chief executive Robert Calderwood said: The scale of what is now involved over the next three months is truly immense.

When the new hospitals open, services from four existing sites will transfer over. This will involve the transfer of patients on a scale never seen before in Scotland.''

The new campus replaces the Royal Hospital for Sick Kids at Yorkhill, the Southern General Hospital, Western and Victoria infirmaries and Mansionhouse Unit.

Up to 10,000 NHS staff will be based at the site when it is fully operational.