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Health services in the far north have picked up a near £8,000 windfall from the decommissioning of Dounreay.

The  money  was  collected  from  companies  and individuals working on the construction of new office accommodation and donated to the Bignold Wing at Caithness General Hospital in Wick for the purchase of equipment.

The  construction  team  wanted  to  mark  the completion of the project by giving  something  back  to  the  community,  as UKAEA project manager Mark Aitken explained.

"Everyone  at Dounreay wants to see the local area get the maximum possible benefit  from  the  large  amount  of  work  being  awarded in contracts to decommission  the  site, so we came up with the idea of attaching an appeal fund for the hospital to this project.

"I'm  delighted  to  say  that  the  main  contractor  on this project, the Robertson  Group,  was fully behind the idea of leaving something behind to benefit  the local community once the contract was complete. Both Robertson Group   and   UKAEA   gave  generous  donations  to  kick-start  the  fund, sub-contractors  and  suppliers  also  contributed and other donations came from individuals working on the new office block.

"Some  gave  a  one-off  donation,  others  routinely  gave the change they received after paying for their lunch in the adjacent restaurant and it all started  to  add up. There was also a giant bottle at the construction site entrance,  so  people  visiting  the  site,  for  whatever purpose, had the opportunity  to  contribute.   It reflects great credit on all these people who,  by  their  generosity, entered into the spirit of the fund scheme and raised a total of £7,620."

Colin MacKinnon, construction manager with the Robertson Group, said: "As a group  we  were very happy to be associated with worthwhile schemes such as this one that provide useful equipment to the local community."

Some  of  the money has been used to purchase two medicine trolleys. "These trolleys  are  in constant use around the wards and are used for dispensing medicine  and  tablets," said nursing manager Pauline Craw. "We also bought two  Dinamap  machines  which  record  blood  pressure,  pulse,  and oxygen saturation.  These  machines  provide post-operative information, and their addition  is very welcome. We greatly appreciate the generosity of everyone associated with this fund raising effort."

The  construction work is now complete and the new office accommodation has been  handed  over  to  UKAEA.  During its 12-month construction phase, the project  created  employment for approximately 75 people, most of whom were employed by local sub-contractors.

The  building  will house 300 staff relocated from other areas of the site, some of whom are currently working in temporary accommodation that needs to be  demolished  to  make  way  for the construction of major new plants for handling waste from the decommissioning programme.

Notes
The Dounreay Site Restoration Plan involves some 1500 activities required to decommission the site over the next 50-60 years at a cost in the region of £4 billion. Published in October 2000, it can be viewed at www.ukaea.org.uk.

UKAEA is currently spending £140-150 million a year on decommissioning Dounreay. This is worth approximately £75 million a year to the economy of the Highlands.