Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Process to find new hospital site steps up
The public and NHS Lanarkshire staff have concluded the first stage of a postal scoring process to evaluate the three site options for the new University Hospital Monklands.
The participants have assessed the five non-financial “benefits criteria” that will be used to score the sites, indicating their view of the importance of each one in comparison with the others – a process known as “weighting”.
To do this they allocated each criterion a percentage value, to total 100 per cent across all five.
Independent public engagement specialists at the Consultation Institute (tCI), who are managing the postal scoring exercise, have collated all of the responses and calculated the overall weightings, using a method to ensure proportionate representation from geographical locations and staff groups.
The final weightings are 31.1 per cent for patients’-travel times by road and public transport, and 22.96 per cent for those of staff; plus 22.96 per cent for access and connectivity to NHS regional centres, 14.47 per cent based on site contamination, and 12.2 per cent for the impact of cross-border flow of patients from Glasgow.
Colin Lauder, who is the health board’s director of property, planning and performance, said: “A total of 174 people submitted weighting results and we’d like to thank all of them for taking the time to study and consider the information pack they were sent before they did so.”
In the second part of the postal process, which is now under way, participants will be sent a detailed information pack that will assist them to objectively score the three potential sites – Gartcosh, Glenmavis and Wester Moffat – against all five criteria.
They will return their results to tCI, who will calculate final scores for each option, taking into account the criteria weightings and applying proportionate representation from geographical locations and staff groups, which is published on the Monklands Replacement Project webpage.
Mr Lauder said: “All the participants are being invited to take part in the second stage, and we’d be grateful to them if they would read the site information pack they will be sent and then submit their score sheet to tCI.”
He added: “The outcome of scoring will not be a final decision on a hospital location.
“It will be only one factor which will be considered by NHS Lanarkshire’s board, along with all of the other evidence collected during public and staff engagement, in identifying a preferred option for the new site.”
The postal scoring process is expected be completed this month.