A car has crashed into a building at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, sparking an emergency response. The incident took place around 10.30am on Thursday, September 24, when officers were alerted to a motor having smashed into the hospital building.
Police response and driver charged
Police Scotland rushed to the site on Monkscourt Avenue in the North Lanarkshire town. No one was hurt but the male driver was taken to hospital to be checked over. He was later charged in connection with a driving offence.
A photo taken at the scene, and shared with the Record, shows the rear of the vehicle in the air, with the front having ploughed into the building in front. The car balances on a grass verge while worried medics look on.
Official statement
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 10.30am on Thursday, 24 September, 2026, we were called to a report of a car crashing into a hospital building on Monkscourt Avenue in Airdrie."
"There were no reported injuries however the male driver attended hospital as a precaution. He was subsequently charged in connection with a driving offence." Scottish Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment.
Context of hospital plans
It comes after more than £100million and years of planning were invested in plans for a new Monklands Hospital all of which came crashing to a halt without warning as MSPs prepared to leave Holyrood for the summer. In a letter to NHS Lanarkshire on June 25 - the last day before Holyrood’s summer recess - Health Secretary Angela Constance confirmed the Monklands Hospital replacement project which entailed replacing the current hospital with a £2 billion super hospital was being pulled.
The move sparked fury after the SNP denied the scheme was being shelved prior to May’s Holyrood election. GMB Scotland, one of the biggest unions in NHS Scotland, obtained the Scottish Government’s letter under Freedom of Information legislation - sent after Constance had already addressed MSPs that afternoon.
Union reaction
Keir Greenaway, senior organiser, said its timing suggested the sudden halting of the plans had been designed to blindside the health board, patients and staff. He said: “The announcement was sudden, the timing seems cynical and political spin was prioritised before the care of patients and working conditions of NHS staff in Monklands.
“It has dismayed and angered our members in an increasingly dilapidated Monklands Hospital who have endured worsening conditions in the hope of work starting on a new hospital soon. That is clearly not happening and patients and staff deserve urgent and clear information on the new plans and an unmovable timeline on when work will begin.”
