£300m hospital gets first patients

It was built under the private finance initiative (PFI) - one of the last such projects to be approved before the SNP government signalled a move away from funding public buildings in this way.

Last month, NHS Forth Valley chairman Ian Mullen told The Scotsman that using PFI to build the hospital represented "value for money". It replaces Stirling and Falkirk infirmaries, which will become community hospitals.

Yesterday, a wide range of inpatient, outpatient and day services from Falkirk were transferred to the new hospital as part of the first phase of its opening. These include surgical wards, renal dialysis, chemotherapy and X-ray. All services, including A&E and the maternity unit, will be open by next summer.

Fiona Mackenzie, chief executive of NHS Forth Valley, said: "We are entering a new and exciting time and I believe the new Royal, along with our other developments, places us in the best position in Scotland to deliver the very highest standard of patient care."

Mr Mullen said: "I believe we have been particularly fortunate in being able to achieve wide-ranging staff and public involvement, which has resulted in an imaginative and well-designed facility that has been built with the needs of patients very much in mind.

"More than 600 members of the public recently attended a series of guided tours and it was evident from their feedback that they viewed the building as an outstanding success, with many favourable comments about its size, sense of space and fantastic surroundings."