Balfour Hospital is a

rural general hospital A rural general hospital is a small hospital, similar to a district general hospital, but is specifically trained and staffed to provide healthcare services in remote and rural areas. The concept was pioneered by NHS Scotland. Access to services ...

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

. It is managed by

NHS Orkney The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

History

In 1836, John Balfour of Trenabie set up a charitable trust for the founding of a hospital with the interest from £20,000 worth of Mexican government bonds. In 1845, the trustees of the hospital fund bought the house from local merchant, James Shearer, together with the two large gardens and blacksmith's shop on the west side of the street, for £450. At first known simply as the Orkney Hospital, it became the Balfour Hospital in 1853, in recognition of the contribution of the Balfour family. This building is now the Kirkwall West End Hotel. A new purpose built hospital in New Scapa Road in Kirkwall opened in 1927. A Macmillan House ward for cancer patients had opened at the Eastbank Hospital in 1993; this was replaced by a Macmillan House ward in the Balfour Hospital in March 2000. The Groundwater Suite opened in 2011, bringing a new operating theatre, a sterilising department, and new x-ray unit to the Balfour hospital. This £5 million development was named after Bill Groundwater, a distinguished former surgeon from the islands. A new purpose built hospital designed by Keppie Design and built by

Robertson Group Robertson Group is a large British construction company based in Elgin, Scotland, but also operating in the north and midlands of England. It is the largest construction company in Scotland. History The company was founded by Bill Robertson in El ...

at a cost of £65 million opened in July 2019. It is first hospital in the UK built to a net-zero standard, which means the running of the building does not contribute to carbon emissions. It has a fully-electric energy centre with air-to-water heat pumps generating all hot water and electricity, solar panels on the roof and back-up oil generators in case of emergency.

Services

Balfour Hospital has 48 beds in six wards, a

day hospital A day hospital is an outpatient facility where patients attend for assessment, treatment or rehabilitation during the day and then return home or spend the night at a different facility. Day hospitals are becoming a new trend in healthcare. The num ...

and a day-surgery unit. There are currently approximately 136 births a year at the maternity unit and it has full accreditation as baby friendly, since July 2014. The high dependency unit was closed in November 2022 due to “staffing challenges”.

Performance

In 2013, hospital mortality figures were the worst in Scotland with a higher than expected death rate in 23 of the last 27 quarters, resulting in 128 more deaths than expected, but the small numbers involved mean that little reliance can be placed on the figures.

References

External links

*
Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspection reports
{{authority control NHS Scotland hospitals Hospital buildings completed in 1927 NHS Orkney Hospitals in Orkney 1845 establishments in Scotland Hospitals established in 1845 Kirkwall