NHS Lanarkshire’s new chief executive, Louise Long MBE, has devoted her first week in post to a rapid fact‑finding tour of key frontline services—seeing for herself how staff across the system are redesigning urgent, acute and community care.
Louise kicked off her tour of Lanarkshire at the Flow Navigation Centre (FNC) at Kirklands Hospital. From a bank of telephones and video screens she watched nurses, emergency doctors and Scottish Ambulance Service clinicians triage some of the 8,000 calls the hub now handles every month, steering people to the right place first time and easing pressure on emergency departments.
She also spent a morning at University Hospital Monklands, where she was led through the “front‑door” streaming area, the frailty assessment unit and the purpose‑built urology hub. Louise then saw a demonstration of the Monklands Replacement Project’s new Immersive Suite, a learning and engagement facility that shows a virtual reality vision of Scotland’s most advanced hospital.
Louise then travelled to Hunter Community Health Centre, East Kilbride, for an overview of how co‑locating GP practices with community nursing, mental‑health, children’s and public‑dental teams is shortening referral times and keeping care close to home.
The visit to Hunter Community Health Centre coincided with the centre’s 10th anniversary, Louise joined staff who took the opportunity to celebrate this milestone. A walk‑round of shared treatment rooms was followed by informal discussions with staff from every service based in the building.
Louise said: “I wanted my first days to be spent listening to the people who deliver care day in, day out, and I’ve been inspired by what I’ve seen.
“I saw digital triage that moves a patient from a single phone call to the right clinician in minutes—saving people long waits and anxiety.
“I was struck by the pace of innovation across our hospitals, where frailty units treat older adults in hours rather than days, same day care models send people home sooner, and immersive training lets staff practice life saving skills in a safe environment.
“I’ve also seen the power of truly integrated community services, where primary care teams, dentists, mental health professionals and children’s specialists work side by side to support families.
“The professionalism, creativity and compassion I’ve witnessed give me huge confidence we can deliver our strategy for the years ahead.”
Louise will continue a programme of site visits throughout the coming weeks.
