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We want your feedback on the long-term provision of elective (planned) orthopaedic surgery in Lanarkshire.

NHS Lanarkshire’s preferred option is to transfer this service from its current location, University Hospital Hairmyres, to the new University Hospital Monklands at Wester Moffat, on the outskirts of Airdrie, when it opens around 2028.

The preferred option has been proposed by officers of NHS Lanarkshire. The engagement process on the preferred option was approved by the Board of NHS Lanarkshire. 

Before a final decision is made, it’s crucial that we hear the views of all stakeholders, such as the public, our staff and other members of the community.

Most of the elective orthopaedic surgery for Lanarkshire residents takes place at University Hospital Hairmyres. Additional capacity is provided by the Golden Jubilee National Hospital (an NHS facility) and independent hospitals, with shoulder and upper body orthopaedic surgery carried out at University Hospital Wishaw.

There are a number of benefits to a specialist elective orthopaedic service at the ultra-modern new Monklands:

• It would be large enough to conduct all the elective orthopaedic surgery currently provided at Hairmyres and the small amount done at Wishaw;
• It would reduce or even remove the need for independent sector treatment;
• It would help us cope with the growing need of the people of Lanarkshire for joint replacements as we live longer lives;
• The new hospital will have a single room for every patient, which is ideal for exercise and rehabilitation and has been shown by research to reduce the time spent in hospital and lessen the risk of an infection in the replaced joint.

We believe having the team working together on the same site can increase the volume of surgery carried out and the improve outcomes for patients, including the time they have to stay in hospital.

The new University Hospital Monklands could include a specialist elective orthopaedic service which would be large enough to conduct all of the surgery currently done at Hairmyres and (to a smaller extent) at Wishaw, and also reduce or even remove the need for independent sector treatment, and to also to cope with the growing need of the people of Lanarkshire for joint replacements as we live longer lives.

The new hospital will also have other benefits for orthopaedic patients. Every patient will have a large room with shower and toilet facilities. These rooms are designed to be ideal for exercise and rehabilitation on an individual basis, and this has been shown in other hospitals to reduce the time spent in hospital and reduces the risk of an infection in the replaced joint.

Yes. Regardless of the future location of elective orthopaedic surgery, orthopaedic outpatient care will continue at Lanarkshire’s three acute hospitals – University Hospital Hairmyres, University Hospital Monklands and University Hospital Wishaw.

We have noted comments about access to Wester Moffat for residents in communities across Lanarkshire.

Travel and transport emerged as the overriding theme from NHS Lanarkshire’s extensive engagement with the public and our staff about site selection for the new Monklands. It was therefore given detailed consideration by the Board of NHS Lanarkshire prior to its approval of the Wester Moffat site recommendation.

The new East Airdrie Link Road, which will run between the M8 and Cumbernauld, will offer improved travel times to the Wester Moffat site, compared to the existing hospital, for the vast majority of communities in North and South Lanarkshire, including Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

In addition, NHS Lanarkshire will continue to work closely with partners like North Lanarkshire Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Transport Scotland to ensure necessary improvements to public transport are part of the overall project. This commitment means that the frequency of bus services to the new hospital from communities across Lanarkshire will be as good as, or better than, current services to the existing hospital.

It gives a major opportunity for other services to be improved there. This could include:

• bringing other independent sector surgery back to Hairmyres; and/or
• the desired expansion of the of the new regional vascular surgery service.

There may be other, better, proposals, which will be determined through the development in the near future of a new healthcare strategy for Lanarkshire, which will include public consultation.

It does not affect Lanarkshire’s orthopaedic trauma service (urgent and emergency care for people who have broken bones), which will continue to be located at University Hospital Wishaw as part of the West of Scotland Major Trauma Network.

All three Lanarkshire acute hospitals will continue to have consultant-led A&Es with access to emergency surgery and medicine, supported by critical care, diagnostics and outpatients.

The proposals for the new University Hospital Monklands are moving forwards. An “outline business case” is expected to be submitted for approval to the Scottish Government by the end of this year. We need to decide now if provision of elective orthopaedic surgery will be part of the business case so we can include plans for building and staffing the operating theatres, ward and other facilities needed to support a state-of-the-art elective orthopaedic service.

To help inform your feedback, we’d urge you to take the opportunity to read our guide to the proposals on our webpage, which gives a handy summary of the reasons for changes to the orthopaedics service over recent years and the further service redesign we’re engaging on now.

On the engagement webpage you can find out how to:

• Complete the online survey
• Contact us direct with your comments or questions

To give more opportunity for engagement with the community, the original feedback deadline of 15 September has been extended to 30 September.

No final decision has been made. The community’s feedback is a very important factor and will be captured in an engagement report. The report will be among a range of information the Board of NHS Lanarkshire will receive to assist their deliberations when they meet later this year to consider a decision on the future provision of elective (planned) orthopaedic surgery.

We’ll collate and analyse the feedback and produce an engagement report. It will be among a range of information the Board of NHS Lanarkshire will receive to assist their deliberations when they meet later this year to consider a decision on the future provision of elective (planned) orthopaedic surgery in Lanarkshire.