The SNP Government has been accused of 'utter betrayal' after ministers axed plans to build a long-awaited replacement for the crumbling Monklands hospital in Lanarkshire. Alex Neil, a former health secretary, said the decision to reject an NHS plan to construct a new £2.1 billion health campus in Airdrie was a 'hammer blow to one of the poorest communities in Scotland'.
Election pledge broken
An SNP spokesperson claimed in April - just days before the recent Holyrood election - that it was 'not true' to suggest the project would be scaled back or delayed. The party's 2026 manifesto also stated 'work is already well underway' to build a new hospital for Airdrie and Coatbridge - despite there being no start date for when construction will begin. The Monklands replacement is politically sensitive as the current hospital, which is plagued by maintenance issues, falls in the Airdrie constituency of SNP minister Neil Gray - who was until last month Health Secretary.
Political fallout
Former Labour MSP Neil Findlay today asked: 'Was Neil Gray shuffled out of the health job so he didn't have to bin the Monklands hospital project that would affect his constituents?' Alex Neil, a former MSP for Airdrie, called on Gray to resign from Government over the decision. He said: 'The SNP government originally planned to have a new Monklands hospital built by 2016. Then it was delayed until 2032. Now it appears to have been delayed indefinitely.'
'Not only is this unacceptable, it is a hammer blow to one of the poorest communities in Scotland. During the election campaign, when it became public knowledge that the Scottish Government had not approved the business plan for the new hospital presented to it by NHS Lanarkshire, I stated publicly that this was a clear sign that this project was now in doubt. The SNP issued a statement suggesting that this was not the case. Clearly that was a lie. They engaged in deception of the worst kind.'
Cost concerns
As a former Health Secretary I am absolutely sure that the Scottish Government would have been aware of the estimated costs of the hospital long before 2026 so why did they not redesign the business plan for the hospital to allow it to be delivered by the promised timeframe of 2032? This decision is a hammer to the people of the Monklands and the rest of Lanarkshire. I am also sorry to say that my friend Neil Gray has no choice now but to resign from the Scottish Cabinet. Not to do so will totally undermine his position as the local MSP for Airdrie and Shotts.'
Government response
The board of NHS Lanarkshire met in December and approved the full business case for a new hospital, which was submitted to the Scottish Government for ministerial approval. But health chiefs were then met with silence. Angela Constance, who was handed the Health brief by John Swinney last month, chose the final day of the Holyrood term before the Parliament's two-month summer break to announce it had rejected the business case. She told MSPs there was now an 'ambition' to redesign the plans and suggested work could begin in 2028 instead.
Constance said: 'This is not a decision I have taken lightly. The case for replacing Monklands is well established. The current hospital estate is ageing, it presents ongoing operational challenges, and it constrains the delivery of modern models of care. Staff have worked in difficult conditions for many years, and they deserve better. Patients deserve better. It is my responsibility to ensure that major investment decisions are affordable, deliverable, and aligned with the future direction of our health and care system. The proposal before us, with an estimated cost of around £2.1 billion, would represent an unprecedented concentration of capital investment in a single health project.'
