The Board of NHS Lanarkshire has approved the Initial Agreement (IA) to rebuild or refurbish Monklands Hospital.

The IA was developed after the Scottish Government welcomed the proposal from NHS Lanarkshire to embark on the process of seeking funding for the redevelopment of the hospital.

Colin Sloey, director of strategic planning and performance, said: “We are delighted that the board has formally approved the Initial Agreement.

“The Initial Agreement is the first step in the business case process. We will now start to develop an outline business case followed by a full business case, both of which would in turn require Scottish Government approval.”

The initial agreement sets out a shortlist of four options to be considered at outline business case stage; do minimum, full refurbishment of current hospital, new-build on current hospital site or new-build on another site.

Colin Lauder, interim project director for the Monklands Project, said: “No preferred option has been identified at this stage. Each of the four options is described in terms of their pros and cons which includes programme duration and potential costs. We will continue to work with stakeholders in the development of the outline business case into 2018.

“Stakeholders’ input will be an important element in the options appraisal process which, alongside the consideration of other criteria, will inform the preferred option. The whole business case process will take between two to three years to complete and this has to be finalised before any building work can start. The construction period for the new development will be dependent on the preferred option chosen. We hope this will be known before the end of 2017.”