New national treatment centre opens in Inverness

The centre is located on the Inverness Campus

One of Scotland's network of 10 new national treatment centres has opened to its first patients.

The facility in Inverness provides procedures including hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery.

National Treatment Centre - Highland was due to be available in 2022 but its opening was delayed.

The network is being created to help reduce waiting times by delivering at least 40,000 additional procedures per year by 2026.

Aberdeen, Ayr, Edinburgh and Livingston are some of the other locations for new centres.

NHS Highland said its facility would transform the experience for patients undergoing a range of orthopaedic and ophthalmology procedures.

It is equipped with 24 beds, five operating theatres and 13 consulting rooms.

Director of strategic planning Deborah Jones said patients would benefit from the care of a committed team and the centre's setting in the Inverness Campus.

The centre's clinical director, Colin McNair, said staff were excited to be delivering care to their first patients.