Work on the Lanarkshire Beatson Centre, a £22m radiotherapy facility for the West of Scotland, is now underway.
To celebrate the start of construction, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Alex Neil, was invited to a ground-breaking ceremony at the site, in the grounds of Monklands General Hospital in Airdrie.
He said: “I was delighted to cut the first sod on the site of this important new facility for people in the west of Scotland.
“We know that going through treatment for cancer can be an extremely difficult time for patients and their families. That is why the Scottish Government is determined to see more patients treated in modern facilities – like this state-of-the-art radiotherapy centre.”
Operating as a satellite of the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow, the new centre is expected to be operational by the end of 2015. It is being built by Laing O’Rourke.
Alex Linkston, chairman of NHS Forth Valley, said: “This is an exciting development that will offer excellent premises for patients from across the West of Scotland. The Lanarkshire Beatson will be equipped with the most-advanced technology and equipment to deliver the same world-class treatment currently provided at the Beatson in Glasgow.”
Janette Fraser, project director, added: “I am delighted that construction work is now underway to create this important and much-needed facility.
“A great deal of work has already been carried out by the project board to finalise the design and layout of the facility. It is great to see those plans come to fruition and it is very exciting to think that in around 18 months time the new centre should be treating patients.”
The centre has been designed by Keppie Design and will include two state-of-the-art linear accelerators, which deliver high-energy radiation to shrink tumours and kill cancer cells. It is expected to treat around 80 patients a day who require radiotherapy for lung, breast, prostate and rectal cancers.
