IN just over a fortnight the new £300m Forth Valley Royal Hospital at Larbert will open its doors to its first patients.

 

It will be a significant milestone for a project that has been almost a decade in the planning.

The gleaming new hospital, which sits on an elevated site outside Larbert with spectacular views across the Forth Bridges, the Lomond hills and the Ochils, is one of the most modern and well-equipped in Europe.

 

It is also the largest-ever NHS construction project in Scotland.

 

Due to its sheer size and scale, services will moves across from the existing infirmaries in Falkirk and Stirling on a phased basis over the next year. But it will be July 2011 before acute services from Stirling, such as A&E and the maternity unit, make the final transfer.

 

This week, as the finishing touches are put to the public areas, and around £30million worth of equipment is moved into place, community groups are being given their first glimpse in a series of organised tours.

 

Staff have already begun the job of familiarising themselves with their new surroundings.

 

In the airy 350-seater restaurant they are experimenting with new dishes to tempt the palate of both staff and patients.

 

When it’s up to full capacity they’ll be serving 6-700 meals over the lunchtime period with all food freshly prepared on site each day.

 

The new theatre cooking concept has chefs delivering eggs to order at breakfast, stir fries at lunchtime and pizzas at night all in front of your eyes.

 

Commerical manager Anne Davidson, from Polmont, said: ‘It’s a great time for us, trying recipes and getting to grips with what is a new concept for us too.”

 

Inpatients will be cared for in either single rooms with en-suite facilities or spacious four-bedded wards equipped with free personal TV.

 

Separate patient corridors and lifts provide far greater privacy and a series of 20 court yards, five with patient access, are designed to help speed recovery.

 

The hospital boasts the latest infection control measures such as disposable curtains round the beds, wash-basins with infra-red control, and interstitial blinds that fit between the double glazing on the windows.

 

The way that day patients are cared for has also been revolutionised. The day surgery unit is impressive with lots of wide open space, comfortable changing rooms, a 32-bed recovery room and separate children’s area.

 

There are many stunning features inside including the atrium where you’ll find Radio Royal on air every day, 24 hours a day, and the walls of “dancing windows” that border the patient corridors.

 

And if you don’t see corridors packed with trolleys of linen and medical supplies that’s because a fleet of robots, resembling mini forklift trucks, are on hand to fetch and carry, using a series of special lifts between the basement and the wards.

 

No date has been set for an official opening – not likely to happen until after the third and final phase has been completed in July next year – but it’s no secret that, with the “royal” tag in its title, hopes are high that opening day will be a right royal occasion.