Success of Highland National Treatment Centre in Inverness hailed by MSP Edward Mountain after figures smash targets

The success of the new Highland National Treatment Centre is “heartening”, a local MSP has said after figures revealed it had “exceeded expectations”.

The facility, which is based on the Inverness Campus, has beaten Scottish Government targets for the number of orthopaedic procedures carried out in its first financial year.

When it finally opened in April last year, the then Health Secretary - former First Minister Humza Yousaf - had set a goal of 1350 orthopaedic procedures in its first 12 months.

And a Freedom of Information request has revealed that it smashed that target - carrying out 1722 procedures in the first fiscal year, or 27.6 per cent more than its goal.

The FOI request also showed that a total of 2719 ophthalmic procedures were also carried out over the same time scale.

Edward Mountain, a Highlands and Islands MSP for the Conservatives, said: “It is heartening that the Highland National Treatment Centre has not only met but exceeded expectations regarding the number of orthopaedic procedures carried out in its first year of operation.

“The Centre is essential for Highland residents who have for so long been forced to travel far lengthy distances for orthopaedic and ophthalmic procedures which Central Belt residents have so often had on their doorstep.

“Opposition MSPs like me rightly spend much of our time holding the Scottish Government to account and criticising them when things go wrong, but it’s right that, when there are examples of success, these are also celebrated.

“I hope that this successful expansion of Highland healthcare infrastructure sets a precedent for further investment in our vital services.”

National Treatment Centres are a network of healthcare facilities across Scotland, and there are currently three open (NHS Golden Jubilee Eye Centre, NTC Fife Orthopaedics, and NTC Highland), with two more sites under construction (NHS Forth Valley Larbert, and the expansion of the NHS Golden Jubilee).