NHS Lanarkshire is urging staff to give their views on the replacement or refurbishment of University Hospital Monklands before the current public consultation ends on 15 October.

The consultation was launched on 16 July following an appraisal of the non-financial benefits of four options – ongoing maintenance of the current hospital, a refurbishment of the existing hospital, a new-build on the current site or a new-build in either Gartcosh Business Interchange or Drumshangie Moss near Glenmavis.

The Gartcosh proposal scored highest among the option appraisal participants – public and patient representatives, NHS Lanarkshire staff and key partners such as the Scottish Ambulance Service – and a subsequent financial analysis of all the proposals, which took into account the appraisal results, confirmed a new hospital at Gartcosh as the highest scoring option.

The consultation is giving the public, patients, carers, NHS Lanarkshire staff and many other stakeholders across Lanarkshire and the wider West of Scotland the chance to share their views on the Gartcosh option and what else should be taken into consideration in planning the replacement or refurbishment of the hospital.

There is a dedicated website – www.monklands.scot.nhs.uk – with consultation documentation, videos, frequently asked questions and guidance on how to participate, and there is also information on NHS Lanarkshire’s Facebook and Twitter sites.

In late November, NHS Lanarkshire’s Board will be asked to decide a preferred option for an outline business case (OBC) for the hospital after considering the consultation feedback, the option appraisal and the financial appraisal, which will be updated to take into account a recent offer from the Glenmavis landowner to provide the site for one pence. The OBC will be submitted for approval to the Scottish Government in 2019 before the project can move on to a full business case in 2020.

Dr Jim Ruddy, clinical lead for the Monklands Replacement/Refurbishment Project (MRRP), said: “The consultation is a vital part of the process of realising our vision of a hospital that can fully achieve the plan our doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals have developed to deliver care and treatment in the most ideal way in the future.

“The highest scoring option of a new University Hospital Monklands built at Gartcosh would provide a facility that could address the healthcare challenges created by the ageing population of Lanarkshire. It would be the same dedicated staff and wonderful hospital community we all know – less than three miles away.

“The current site doesn’t have the space or flexibility to fully deliver our blueprint for clinical services, which requires a hospital with a very large ground floor to allow specialist departments to be next to each other to improve the patient journey and treatment.”

NHS Lanarkshire director of planning, property and performance Colin Lauder added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the people of Lanarkshire to build a state-of-the-art facility to serve patients for decades to come.

“We’ve already gathered valuable feedback from the public and our staff through a series of events throughout Lanarkshire, including 13 public meetings.

“We want as many public and staff as possible to give us their views before the consultation ends by completing the questionnaire in the consultation document we’ve distributed to hospitals, health centres, libraries, pharmacies and at meetings. The consultation document is also on our website where the questionnaire can be filled in online.

“The document clearly outlines the advantages and disadvantages of the options that were assessed during the appraisal process in terms of both clinical services and access.”