Photos show Wishaw General in 2001 prior to opening
This month marks the silver anniversary of the official opening of University Hospital Wishaw.
But the story of its physical construction began in August 1998, when Scottish Health Minister Sam Galbraith MP visited the site of the hospital as building got underway, to replace the old Law Hospital.
He described it as: “another milestone in our drive to turn the NHS in Scotland into the most modern health service in Europe. This project is also about changing the way we work and the way we deliver care.”
James Dunbar, chairman of Law Hospital Trust, said: “It’s been a tremendous amount of work and a great achievement to get to where we are today.
“It is the beginning of doing new things, delivering new things and delivering hospital services in a new way. I am delighted the Minister of Health was able to visit the Trust and the site to see the good progress being made.”
One of the early areas for discussion, after the ground was cut, was the name of the hospital, which became a fierce debate by December 1998, after signage stating “New Law Hospital at Netherton” went up during construction. The Motherwell and Wishaw MP Frank Roy urged the health board to name it Wishaw General Hospital, given the hospital was no longer based in Law.
Readers of the Wishaw Press newspaper were encouraged to vote to have their say, with Wishaw General Hospital being the overwhelming favourite.
It was confirmed in late April 2001 that the new Wishaw General would open on Tuesday 29 May 2001, but prior to this, three open days were held, which gave the people of Lanarkshire the chance to have a look around the new building. A total of 15,000 people looked around, with one day for staff, another for the public, and a final one for pupils of local schools.
General manager Grant Archibald – who cooked hamburgers at a stall on one open day – said: “We had a huge amount of people visiting on all three days and I was delighted by the positive remarks many of them stopped to make.
“The phenomenal amount of interest in the hospital was a great boost for all our staff, and we are determined to ensure that the services are on a par with this wonderful building we are about to open.”
On the opening day, 144 inpatients were transferred from Law Hospital to Wishaw, with the emergency care unit opening at 7am on 29 May.
Grant said: “The move went exactly to plan and I applaud the staff who worked fantastically to make it happen.
“While we have fond memories of the hospital we have left behind, we are very excited about the new and better services we can provide in these fabulous facilities.”
Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals Trust Chief Executive Joe Owens praised the commitment shown by staff. He said: “This has been a textbook operation.”
Arthur Pirie, from Newarthill, was one of the first patients to be settled into Wishaw and he was impressed. A former transport manager, he said: “This hospital is just wonderful. It is like a first-class hotel with fantastic facilities and gorgeous surroundings.”
The maternity unit at Wishaw opened on 3 June, following the closure of its predecessors at Law and Bellshill.
Marie Devine and Patrick Grew, from Motherwell, were delighted to welcome their daughter Megan that day, as the first baby born in the maternity unit at Wishaw. Megan weighed in at 6lbs 8ozs, and was given a piece of Stewart crystal from maternity staff, a birth certificate holder, a first tooth trinket box from the Wishaw Press, and a supply of baby goods from radio station Clan FM.
Proud dad Patrick said: “Marie gave birth in the new LDRP room, which was huge and more like a bedroom than a hospital room.”
The hospital was keen to emphasise that its specialised frailty services for the elderly, which had previously been centred at Law, would continue in Wishaw.
In 2001, the Lanarkshire population of those aged 75 and above had increased by 23 per cent since 1998, and statistics showed the greatest concentration of older people lived in the area served by University Hospital Wishaw.
Grant Archibald, added: “It’s a fantastic building and the design will allow us to continue to develop services in the future.
“The design is geared to new ways of working and everything is centred around the needs of the patients.”
Grant was delighted with the modern emergency admissions unit, the intensive care and high-dependency care units, theatre, laboratories and radiology, particularly the fully integrated picture archiving and communications system which allowed medical staff to view patients’ x-rays on their computer screens.
He said: “We’ve included major investment in the comfort of the patients with 370 electric beds, new mattresses, new bedside cabinets and overbed tables.
“It’s not all about new technology, although this is vital; it’s about the patient. Our approach is to buy the best in medical and surgical equipment, and also investing in patient comfort.”
The official opening of the hospital took place on 29 October 2001, when First Minister Henry McLeish performed the ceremony. He was accompanied by Health Minister Susan Deacon.
In his speech, the First Minister paid tribute to health staff and spoke of the great pride and service traditions originated at the old Law Hospital, which would be continued at the new Wishaw General. He said the hospital’s official opening symbolised a bright new future for Lanarkshire in health terms.
Mr McLeish was shown around the new facility by Joe Owens, and Irene Barkby, Associate Director of Nursing and Widwifery.
In the coronary unit and medical high dependency unit, Sister Agnes Sloey introduced the First Minister to patient Robert Hamilton (81).
When visiting the maternity unit, new parents Craig and Lesley Little, from Blantyre, showed the visiting VIPs their twins Jenna and Blair.
Other guests on the tour included MP Frank Roy, local MSP Jack McConnell, North Lanarkshire Council Leader Jim McCabe, Provost Barry McCulloch and Lanarkshire Health Board chair Ian Livingstone, as well as health board officials and hospital staff.
James Dunbar, chair of Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This is a fantastic hospital with superb equipment and facilities, but most importantly, we have excellent, committed, professional staff. We are all very proud of Wishaw General Hospital and look forward to providing many years of first-class services from first-class facilities by first-class staff.”
Health Minister Susan Deacon MSP said she was impressed by the: “sense of real enthusiasm” at the hospital.
Jack McConnell MSP said: “This is a very, very proud day for Wishaw,” while MP Frank Roy described the hospital as a “fantastic building with a fantastic future”.
To complete the occasion, a cake in the shape of the hospital building was cut.
The plaque from the official opening can still be seen in University Hospital Wishaw today.
Angela Dixon, who is the current hospital site director, added: “It has been an absolute privilege to be site director since February 2025. While I represent only a small part of the hospital’s 25-year history, in that time I have seen first-hand the extraordinary commitment, compassion and resilience of the people who work here.
“Our staff work incredibly hard, often under significant pressure, but their focus on doing the very best they can for our patients and each other never wavers.
“As we mark 25 years, it is an opportunity to recognise not just what University Hospital Wishaw means today, but the thousands of staff who have contributed to the hospital over those years, and the generations of patients and families we have had the privilege of caring for. I am incredibly proud to now be part of that story.”
