NHS Lanarkshire spent £42 million between February 2024 and October last year drawing up plans for a replacement for the crumbling Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, only for the Scottish Government to scrap them as unaffordable. Health Secretary Angela Constance has ordered a complete redesign to cut costs, delaying the project until the early 2030s at best.
Wasted Millions Amid NHS Struggles
The current Monklands Hospital dates from the 1970s and requires millions in repairs. The SNP Government last week announced it could not afford to sign off the plan drawn up by NHS Lanarkshire. This comes as more than £22 billion will be spent on health and social care in Scotland this year, yet the NHS is not swimming in cash. According to Record View, it seems scarcely believable that so much money can effectively be written off at a time the NHS is already struggling to deliver basic services.
Political Fallout
Nationalists insist they remain committed to building a new hospital for Coatbridge and Airdrie and surrounding villages, which contain some of Scotland's poorest communities. However, the scrapped plan means it will take even longer to complete. The Monklands replacement project is becoming a debacle for the SNP.
