A COVID-19 assessment centre in Clydebank will remain open as two others in Greater Glasgow and Clyde close.

The stripping back of services follow a steady decline in the number of coronavirus cases nationally and a corresponding fall in attendances at the centres.

Centres in Eastwood and Kirkintilloch will shut, leaving five open in Clydebank, Renton, Barr Street in Glasgow, Greenock, and Linwood.

The Community Assessment Centres (CAC) were mobilised at the beginning of the pandemic to provide a streamlined pathway for patients who had Covid-19 symptoms to ensure they received the most appropriate care as quickly as possible.

The seven specialist centres played a central role in effectively cohorting patients and protecting other primary and acute care services from being overwhelmed as well as the safety of patients and staff.

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To date more than 5,500 patients have been through the centres.

Dr Jim O’Neil, lead clinician at Barr Street CAC, said: “It’s great news to be able to wind down two of our CACs as it means community transmission is reducing across Greater Glasgow and Clyde in line with the rest of Scotland.

“Staff members who had been redeployed to the CACs can move back into other roles as the country adapts into a recovery phase to allow us to scale back up services which have been impacted by the pandemic.

“The CACs were designed to serve a short-life span and have been very effective in helping treat people with Covid-19 symptoms. However, numbers have been steadily declining and in line with planning, services have been reduced to meet falling demand.”

The situation will be reviewed daily and can be scaled back up if necessary.