Scotland's Economy

New life sciences centre for Moray

May 8, 2012 by Dave Oxley No Comments | Category innovation

It was a great pleasure to see the first turf being cut at the new life science centre in Elgin on Friday.

The creation of the £6.5m Alexander Graham Bell Centre is an exciting step forward in providing the facilities Moray needs to be at the forefront of delivering innovative healthcare systems for the future.

The centre will act as Europe’s first specialist digital health centre bringing together industry, academia, and health experts in the pursuit of innovative solutions to our future health needs. It’s a collaborative project between Highlands and Islands Enterprise, NHS Grampian, Moray College and Scottish Government.

The new centre carries the name of the esteemed Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who taught in Elgin at a young age. As Bell is renowned as the father of modern communication, a great scientist and engineer, it’s fitting that this centre is being established in Elgin to ensure the use of the communication technology is embedded in future health delivery.

The building will be constructed within the Moray College campus and will be made up of the following complimentary areas:

Research and Commercialisation Centre – the heart of this centre will be the Digital Health Research Unit which is particularly useful in bringing clinical expertise to the point of need in remote and rural areas.

Clinical Skills Training Unit – this is a key driver behind the development of the centre. The building will incorporate a resuscitation room, a minor surgery training room, a four-bed training room and a health and safety room. NHS Grampian intends to transfer part of their education function here.

Business Incubators – commercialisation of research is key to job creation in the area. There will be three incubator pods available for businesses undertaking activity relating to the centre.

Health and Social Care Academy – Moray College will form an academy which will offer more courses at further education and higher education levels which will be delivered on campus as well as though e-learning with extensive use of video conferencing across the UHI networks.

Conference and Meetings facilities – the new facilities will be suitable for letting to outside organisations and will include 120 seat lecture theatre, breakout rooms, VC rooms, and other smaller meeting rooms.

Along with the Centre for Health Science in Inverness, this project demonstrates that Moray and the Highlands and Islands are serious players in the global life sciences sector. We will continue to work with other organisation on this ambitious project and look forward to the Centre opening for business in July 2013.

Tags: Alexander Graham Bell, health and social care, NHS

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