Queen to open £110m hospital centre

The Queen will officially open a £110 million emergency care centre today which aims to make hospital visits quicker and safer for patients.

The centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's Foresterhill campus provides emergency care and specialist support for cancer, heart and blood patients.

It is the biggest development at the medical site since the original hospital was built in 1936. It has been built for patients, and will improve privacy, cut the length of stays and lower the risk of infection, NHS Grampian said.

As part of a tour, the Queen will meet staff, patients and workers and visit the specialist haematology, oncology and radiology units which have been brought together in the centre to improve links between the departments.

She will unveil a plaque to mark her visit and officially open the centre.

The new building, named after Matthew Hay, medical officer for Aberdeen City in the 1920s who created the Foresterhill campus, has 350 beds and hosts the a ccident and emergency unit and the regional NHS24 services.

In another trip in the north east of Scotland, the Queen will mee t staff and pupils at the International School of Aberdeen, a school which has more than 500 pupils from 39 countries.

She will watch a performance by pupils in the newly-built Queen Elizabeth theatre in the school before unveiling a plaque and signing the visitors' book.

The international school was founded in 1972 and teaches pupils from nursery all the way through to secondary level.