PLANS for a multi-million pound health centre in Clydebank have taken a step forward after the health board approved the idea.

The Outline Business Case (OBC) for the £19.3million state-of-the-art Health and Care Centre to be built on the Queens Quay was approved at a meeting of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board yesterday.

It will now be submitted to the Scottish Government’s capital investment group for funding approval.

Beth Culshaw, chief officer of West Dunbartonshire HSCP, said: “This new expanded Health and Care Centre will be much more than a simple replacement of the existing facility.

“It will give local people access to state-of-the-art health and care services in a facility fit for the 21st Century – all under one roof.

“This new centre will also contribute to the regeneration of Clydebank as well as making a real contribution to local residents’ health. It will be a marked improvement on the current outdated building and will provide better access to the wide range of services.

“Clydebank, like much of the West of Scotland, experiences some of the worst socio-economic deprivation and health outcomes in the country. The planned design of the building will help further break down the barriers between services and help to create a seamless pathway between services for patients and service users.”

The health centre will be built adjacent to a new Clydebank Care Home, with work on the facility set to get underway later this year.

Martin Docherty-Hughes MP said: “It’s great news for Clydebank that we are a further step forward in approving the funding for a new Health and Care Centre.

“The facilities at Kilbowie Road have served us well over the past 40 years but a new health centre is long overdue.”

While the town’s MSP Gil Paterson added: “I am very glad to see the new Clydebank Health Centre marked as a priority — the sooner this stunning new facility is with us the better. What we’re getting is going to be a profound facility that has so many services that it more resembles somewhere in between a health service and a hospital.”

Infrastructure work at the site, including repairs to quay walls and new basin decking along with the creation of a new road layout, will begin shortly. The next stage in the development of the health centre is to go through the process of applying for planning permission.