A new health centre for East Renfrewshire has been approved by the Scottish government.

Construction will begin on the site of the former Isobel Mair School at Drumby Crescent, Clarkston. The development is expected to be finished in 2015.

East Renfrewshire Council has put up £8.4m, while the Scottish Government Capital Investment Group has approved a further £9m through the Hub funding initiative.

The new building will provide a number of health and social care services so patients no longer need to travel between sites for healthcare provision.

The centre will house GPs, physiotherapy and podiatry, rehabilitation and enablement services, district nurses, health visitors, adult and older people's mental health, children and families, voluntary sector, business support staff and City Health Care Partnership (CHCP) management.

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Four local GPs are expected to move into the new facility, and it is hoped there will be space for a fifth.

CHCP says one of its main priorities is to facilitate elderly and infirm residents' access to the centre.

The group is working with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) , dial-a-bus and RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme).

Councillor Lafferty, chair of the CHCP committee, said: "This significant investment recognises that our integrated CHCP model works. It will enable us to deliver to the people of Eastwood the same level of shared services that we do from the Barrhead Health and Care Centre to Barrhead residents.

"In the new building for the first time, for example, we will be able to house services such as carers and dementia support to give us a more holistic approach to delivering health and social care.

"A new health and care centre means we can deliver better value for money in Eastwood. It makes sense to consolidate health and social care services currently provided from range of premises into one building and replace buildings which are not fit for purpose."

(IT)