NHS set to spend £630,000 on new Kilmarnock homes

NHS set to spend £630,000 on new Kilmarnock homes for medical students

The health board will buy and maintain the new homes for medical students.

Three new residences for medical students will be purchased and maintained by NHS Ayrshire & Arran for a total of £630k.

Near University Hospital Crosshouse are the new residences at Fardalehill, which is located on Kilmarnock’s western border.

According to the NHS, the additional residences are required to help the Scottish Government achieve its goal of having more undergraduate medical students in the country within the next two years.

According to a report presented to the Ayrshire and Arran Health Board this week, each property’s cost has been negotiated down from £187,995 to £178,595, a savings of £9,4k.

The board will pay the extra expenses of furnishing each house, buying furnishings, and covering some of the additional running costs related to the site in addition to the more than £535k that was spent on the dwellings.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran will pay for the purchase and associated expenses out of ‘extra cost of teaching’ funding totalling £630k.

According to the report: “Operating support for housekeeping, maintenance, and utilities will be needed in order to purchase the property at Fardalehill. These activities will come with additional expenditures because of the staff’s off-site location and travel time, as well as domestic rates and factoring fees.

“The Fardalehill residences will increase the amount of student housing available near the University Hospital Crosshouse (UHC).” By doing this, high-quality housing will be provided, and there will be greater flexibility in the existing estate for housing provision when residential housing is needed to support other activities.”

After an assessment, it was determined that another housing development at Laird’s Gate was ‘not an appropriate location to suit the needs of the students and professionals who would be staying there’ since it was too far from the town centre, bus lines, and Crosshouse Hospital.
By contrast, the research notes that the Fardalehill development would be ideal for both active travel and carbon footprint, with students and staff just needing to walk 10 minutes to go to work.

“The purchase of the properties will provide students a home that is attractive, of high quality, and safe,” the report says.

“By creating the additional capacity for Medical Students at Fardalehill this in turn will provide additional flexibility across the remaining residential estate in order to support the wider recruitment programmes.