Service Improvements

Healthcare Strategy

Our healthcare strategy will transform the way we deliver healthcare across Forth Valley. Acute services will be brought together on one site in the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital at Larbert. It will be supported four community hospitals in Falkirk, Stirling, Bo'ness and Clackmannanshire and a range of enhanced community based centres and clinics.

• NHS Forth Valley Integrated Healthcare Strategy 2009-2014 (pdf, 300k)

Key developments include:

Clackmannanshire Community Healthcare Centre

This £20m facility, which was officially opening in November 2009, is home to 3 GP practices and provides a wide range of services including community nursing, speech and language therapy, podiatry, dental, physiotherapy and dermatology. It also has 45 inpatient beds for rehabilitation, palliative and continuing care and a day therapy unit which provides services for people with both mental health and physical needs. It is one of four community hospitals being developed across Forth Valley.

Langlees Dental Centre

this purpose-built "teach and treat" dental centre in the Langlees area of Falkirk opened in August 2009. It has seven dental surgeries and is involved in training final year students at Glasgow Dental School.

Stenhousemuir Health Centre

The new Stenhousemuir Health Centre was completed in March 2010. The facility, which has replaced the former building on Park Drive, houses four GP practices - Ochilview, Park View, Stenhouse and Viewpoint - and is much larger than the former premises.

Not only does the new building provide a better environment for patients but also provides improved access to a wider range of services. These include podiatry, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, together with consulting space for outpatient psychiatry and dietetics.

Meadowbank Health Centre

the health centre has undergone a £1.8m refurbishment to improve the quality of accommodation for patients and staff.

Falkirk Community Hospital

following the transfer of a number of services to the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital in August 2010, the former Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary was officially renamed as Falkirk Community Hospital.

Work is underway across the site to demolish buildings which are no longer required, develop new purpose-built facilities and refurbish some existing accommodation. Falkirk Community Hospital provides a wide range of outpatient services including dental, speech and language therapy, dietetics, sexual health (including family planning), mental health, podiatry, psychology services. It also provides inpatient services for people requiring rehabilitation, palliative and complex care.

In-patient and community services currently in Bonnybridge Hospital will re-locate to Falkirk Community Hospital in 2012, once new modern, en-suite accommodation has been developed.

NHS Forth Valley is also working with Falkirk Council to develop a masterplan for the site. This will include work to explore how vacant parts of the site could be redeveloped in the future for a number of potential uses including joint council and NHS service developments and housing.

Stirling Community Hospital

Stirling Community Hospital will be developed on the Stirling Royal Infirmary Site following the transfer of acute services, including A&E, to the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital in July 2011. Inpatient services for frail, older people currently provided at Bannockburn Hospital will transfer to the community hospital site as planned once new purpose-built in-patient accommodation has been developed.

The hospital, which will continue to be a base for hundreds of NHS staff and handle more than 200,000 patient appointments each year, will offer a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services.

Discussions are also underway with Stirling Council to explore a number of joint initiatives. This includes the potential to create a "care village" on the site to make effective use of land freed up by the redevelopment which could lead to the creation of new care homes and sheltered housing. In addition, NHS Forth Valley is working with a number of GP practices in Stirling to explore opportunities for them to operate from improved accommodation, in line with new national guidance on the development of primary care premises. This includes options on the Stirling Community Hospital site.