Two new health projects have been approved by the Scottish Government, totalling more than £90m. The initiatives include the development of the East Lothian Community Hospital, as well as the refurbishment of operating theatres at Monklands General Hospital.

At East Lothian Community Hospital, the £75m project will provide orthopaedics, stroke rehabilitation, enhanced imaging and a social care day unit.

Construction on the site could begin as early as next year, with the facility being operational by the end of 2017.

The £17.9m project at Monklands General Hospital will see a 10-bed intensive care unit created, as well as the refurbishment of seven existing operating theatres, to bring critical-care beds together in one modern unit.

Work on the scheme is scheduled to commence at the end of this year, with completion expected in 2018.

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Welcoming the investment, Health Secretary Alex Neil said: "Having the best health facilities and services, in the right place is rightly important to patients and that is why I am delighted that these two projects have been given the green light.

"This considerable investment reflects the Scottish Government's commitment to ensure that every patient in Scotland has access to world class care in innovative health facilities.

"By developing purpose built community services and ensure our hospitals have state-of-the-art facilities we will ensure that all patients get the highest possible standards of care across all of our NHS services."

David Small, Joint Director, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, commented: "We are delighted that our initial plans for the new East Lothian Community Hospital have been approved by the Scottish Government.

"This is a major step forward in the overall process to build a new community hospital in East Lothian. The new building will bring an overall increase in capacity from what is currently available locally and some services provided outside of East Lothian are likely to move back to the county once it's completed."

Rhona Roberton, Director of Hospital Services for Monklands Hospital, added: "The refurbishment and upgrade work will provide a facility which is fitted to the highest standards, improve the provision of ICU care and modernise healthcare delivery at Monklands Hospital."

(JP/IT)