SAk – Akureyri Hospital

Akureyri Hospital (SAk) is one of two specialised hospitals in Iceland and provides both general and specialised health care with an emphasis on emergency care and major specialty treatments. The hospital is a teaching hospital and carries out research in health sciences.

In 2023 the Ministry of Finance and Economy stipulated changes to the organisation of specialised hospital care. NLSH was thereby appointed to oversee construction projects regarding the development of the infrastructure of specialised hospital care that before was the responsibility of The Government Property Agency (FSRE). One of the current projects is the building of a new inpatient unit at SAk.

A preliminary study that was carried out in 2021 under the auspices of SAk and FSRE is the basis for this project. The new building will house the inpatient units for the surgical, medical, and psychiatric wards. The psychiatric outpatient clinic will also be situated in the building. The preliminary study evaluated the number of beds based on population, admission frequency, and length of stay for each age group. Consideration was taken of the population forecast, i.e. population development and age distribution to estimate the required number of beds in the future. The conclusion is that, in the year 2040, the new medical and surgical departments will require 72 beds and the psychiatric ward 12 beds, or 84 beds in total. Currently the number of beds for the three departments is 53 beds. The required increase is therefore just over 58%.
The new building is expected to be 9,200m² in size and situated south of the current buildings and connected to an older building with a connecting corridor.

A consultancy agreement between LSH and SAk has been made to ensure the professional participation of the hospital in the project. Pre-qualification for the design part will be advertised and in continuation the tender and construction. The construction is scheduled to finish in 2027, subject to authorisation.