Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about the Service model for new hospital can be found on the NHS Highland website 

Tuesday 4th July 2023 

Lochaber Redesign – Service Model 

The purpose of this document is to provide clarity on some of the frequently asked questions regarding the clinical services within the new hospital and is in response to the recent public engagement event in Lochaber and the subsequent stakeholder meeting. The document will be shared with our stakeholders, including our NHS Colleagues. 

During these events there was a request for several questions, which had been discussed at both events, to be clarified in more detail. The dialogue across both meetings was wide-ranging with many different aspects being explored, so it is appropriate to have the questions and answers consolidated into a single document. 

The range of questions reflected broadly those areas which featured most prominently during our discussions. The emphasis was mainly on service developments, bed numbers and how the service provision in the new-build will be different. The responses have been provided by our Clinical Staff and reflect the outcome of the engagement with our clinical teams. These answers will be familiar to our stakeholder group members as they have been discussed previously. 

There were other more technical questions relating to the size of the new building which have not been included at this stage. This is due to the nature and the early stage of the design process. Although we could provide approximate figures for the size of the new hospital, these would be imprecise and would require revision later. 

The Clinical Output Specifications and the Schedule of Accommodation will be issued to the design team shortly and the process of incorporating this information into the design progress will begin. Once the design team have integrated the room relationships, corridor sizes and circulation areas, we will be able to generate a more precise figure for the size of the new hospital, which we will share with our stakeholders. 

As we progress the design development, we will continue to keep colleagues and our stakeholder group informed of the developments and will actively encourage engagement at all levels. 

Yours sincerely, 

Louise Bussell 

Board Nurse Director

20230623-lochaber-service-model-questions-and-answers.pdf

 A Section 42 application was submitted in August 2025. This is a request to amend the existing Planning in Principle permission, formerly known as Outline Planning Permission, but is not the detailed planning application for the hospital which we anticipate will be submitted in February or March 2026.  

There is a existing Permission in Principle (PiP) relating to the whole Blar Mor masterplan which dates from 2018 and can be viewed at 18/03647/PIP. We’ve applied to amend two elements of this:

• The PiP as existing refers to a hospital of up to 8500m². This was an estimate based on adding a percentage to footprint of the current Belford Hospital, which is just over 6000m². As we now have a clearer understanding of what the new facility needs to include and how it will be laid out, the hospital footprint has increased. We’ve therefore applied to increase the footprint to 12,400m² plus an allowance for an energy centre of 1000m². This is slightly more than the current design so that if anything needs to change as the design progresses, we don’t need to apply to change the PiP again.

• The PiP as existing refers to separate hospital and STEM centre sites and allocates specific site areas to each. We agreed in 2021 to adopt a ‘campus approach’ with the STEM centre, including a shared car park and service yard. Design work on the detail of the site layout is still underway and we’ll then need to agree with the STEM centre which areas each party will own, and which areas may be shared or owned by one party with a right of access for the other. This is further complicated by the STEM not having a clear timeline for construction. We’ve therefore applied to adjust how the site is described in the permission, proposing one overall site area for a combined STEM and hospital site. This will allow us to agree the detail of ownership and development boundaries in conjunction with the STEM Centre to best suit both developments, while remaining compliant with the PiP.