The chair and chief executive cut the ribbon on the new Rapid Emergency Assessment Care Team (REACT) area as well as the Same Day Admissions (SDA) with the Planned Investigations Unit (PIU).

Dr Gordon McNeish, consultant in emergency medicine, said: “REACT is a new way of treating people as they present at the emergency department.

“This gives us a more robust approach to how we see and treat patients and enables everything to work more smoothly.”

The REACT area improves patient time to first assessment. Diagnostics are also be carried out quicker which means all patients should have a shorter journey through the department.

When it comes to elective cases, all patients now go via the new SDA unit.  This improves the experience for the patient and also the emergency flow into inpatient beds.  In addition, the PIU delivers a variety of tests and infusions for patients who would previously have had these tests in an inpatient bed.

Calum Campbell, chief executive, said: “Everyone knows Monklands is a great hospital but it is an old hospital.

“The new areas improve the experience for our patients and enable staff to continue to provide excellent care in a much better working environment.”