12 PUBLIC MEETING Future of healthcare in spotlight

A public meeting on NHS Lanarkshire’s healthcare strategy is to take place in East Kilbride next month.

It will take place at The Village Centre, 12 Maxwell Drive, on Tuesday, October 11 as part of the ongoing public consultation into the board’s Achieving Excellence strategy, which runs until November 1.

Residents are being asked to give their views on a range of issues, including plans for a £400m project to replace or fully refurbish Monklands Hospital, the delivery of specialist services in centres of excellence and the development of more community services.

The health board want to create a two-site centre of excellence model with Hairmyres providing elective orthopaedic services and Wishaw providing all operative trauma services.

Dr Iain Wallace, NHS Lanarkshire’s medical director, said: “Your comments and feedback are crucial to ensuring we have the right strategy in place to deliver high-quality, safe, effective and personcentred care for the people of Lanarkshire.

“As well as setting out our proposals for the future, ‘Achieving Excellence’ includes a clear commitment from NHS Lanarkshire that Wishaw General, Hairmyres and Monklands hospitals will all continue to deliver emergency care.

“Each hospital will continue to have: a fully-functioning, consultant-led emergency department; acute medical and surgical services; diagnostics and imaging; operating theatres; and critical care and outpatient services.”

The meeting is open from 6.30pm; refreshments will be available, and the “formal meeting”, from 6.50pm – 8.30pm will include an introductory presentation, small group discussions, and a question and answer session.

Achieving Excellence is one part of a trilogy of plans, along with Joint Strategic Commissioning Plans produced by the North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), which will deliver modern, health and social care services.

The public meetings are just one of a range of ways to get involved and additional stakeholder meetings are also taking place across Lanarkshire during the consultation period.

People can also send their views before November 1, by completing the consultation questionnaire at www. surveymonkey.co.uk