Reform UK MSP Graham Simpson has challenged the Scottish Government over its decision to abandon the £2.1 billion plans for a new Monklands Hospital, questioning whether voters were misled about the project’s future ahead of the Holyrood election.
The Central Scotland and Lothians West MSP demanded answers from Health Secretary Angela Constance after newspaper investigations revealed that ministers had received warnings about the hospital’s escalating costs before the May election.
The Scottish Government announced in June that the proposed replacement hospital at Wester Moffat, Airdrie, would have to be redesigned because its estimated £2.1 billion cost did not represent value for money.
The decision came just weeks after the election, during which the SNP had continued to promote its commitment to the new hospital.
An investigation by the Scottish Mail on Sunday, subsequently reported by other newspapers, revealed that NHS Scotland Assure had raised significant concerns about the project in March.
The reports indicated that officials had warned against proceeding immediately to construction, raising questions about what ministers knew and when.
The controversy has also focused attention on former Health Secretary Neil Gray, whose Airdrie constituency includes the hospital project.
The Scottish Government maintains that Mr Gray was recused from decisions concerning the replacement hospital and that the full business case had not completed the necessary assurance process before the election.
Challenging Angela Constance during General Questions at Holyrood, Mr Simpson said:
“Those of us who smelled a rat during the election campaign were right. The people of Lanarkshire were hoodwinked over Monklands.”
He demanded to know how residents could have confidence in the Government’s commitment to deliver the replacement hospital.
“Given what we now know, how can they have any confidence that the SNP Government will build a new hospital? When will it be built and what is the budget?”
The Health Secretary reiterated her commitment to delivering the hospital and said the indicative plan was to begin construction in 2028.
However, she did not provide a budget or a completion date.
The controversy follows a dramatic escalation in the projected cost of the replacement hospital, which had previously been estimated at around £700 million.
The revised £2.1 billion proposal was rejected in June after ministers concluded that it would place unacceptable pressure on Scotland’s wider NHS capital investment programme.
The Government has promised that the replacement hospital will still be built at Wester Moffat and will retain core services, including accident and emergency.
However, NHS Lanarkshire must now develop a revised design, with fresh proposals expected to be submitted to ministers in 2027.
The decision has created uncertainty over the scale, cost and eventual opening date of a hospital intended to serve communities across Lanarkshire