Plans for the future of the former Lockhart Hospital premises have been announced as part of NHS Lanarkshire’s Annual Review, alongside plans to strengthen community healthcare across Lanark and the surrounding rural communities.
The Lockhart site will take on a new role in providing community-based healthcare for local people. Work is underway to develop a new model of local care, building on new and existing services and supporting a community first approach to healthcare.
As an early part of these plans, Lanarkshire’s first primary care walk-in centre will open at Lanark Health Centre before the end of this year. The walk-in centre is then planned to move to the former Lockhart Hospital premises later in 2027.
Work will continue separately to identify and then develop the wider range of community-based healthcare that could be provided at Lockhart. This will complement existing primary care services. Inpatient hospital services will not return.
Health Secretary Angela Constance said: “I welcome progress on establishing Lanarkshire’s first GP walk-in services. These have been designed to provide more choice in the community for patients while helping to relieve pressure on wider NHS services.
“The Scottish Government has promised that we will break from the status quo and introduce a new way for patients to access same day care and complement our existing service provision. We are delivering on that commitment.”
Katharina Kasper, Chair of NHS Lanarkshire, said: “I welcome the Scottish Government’s support for our plans to develop a new role for the former Lockhart Hospital premises for local people.
“We will work with people in Lanark and the surrounding communities on how local healthcare should develop. That conversation will look at local healthcare as a whole, including the role Lockhart can play.”
Professor Soumen Sengupta, Chief Officer for Health and Social Care for South Lanarkshire, said: “The future of healthcare in Lanark matters to people across the town and the surrounding rural communities. That has come through clearly in my conversations with local people and their elected representatives.
“I am grateful to colleagues for their work in progressing these plans. We will draw on evidence and learning from elsewhere as local services take shape. Our aim is to strengthen community healthcare, developing new provision alongside our ongoing work to improve existing services for local people.”
The Scottish Government has also confirmed plans for GP walk-in centres in East Kilbride and to serve the communities of Shotts.
Further information on local services, timescales and opportunities for local people to contribute will be shared as the work progresses.
