The Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has approved nine NHS schemes costing £187m.

Projects include the £9.8m refurbishment of Cupar Hospital in Fife and the £8.3m replacement of Migdale Hospital in the Highlands.

The new Southern General Hospital in Glasgow will benefit from new labs which will provide 24- hour haematology, biochemistry and mortuary services.

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Money will also be spent on replacement of Scottish Ambulance Service vehicles.

Ms Sturgeon told BBC Scotland: "The projects approved this year by the Scottish government will benefit patients the length and breadth of Scotland.

"From the new £90m labs at the new Southern General in Glasgow to the replacement of Migdale Hospital in Sutherland, these facilities will make a real difference to the standard of healthcare in these areas.

"They also provide an important economic stimulus in these tough times, helping some of the most vulnerable sectors of our economy, such as construction, which have been hit especially hard by the collapse of private investment."

(GK/BMcc)