Regional health centre launched

Stracathro Hospital will provide services under a three-year deal

A multi-million pound contract for Scotland's first regional health centre has been signed.

Stracathro Hospital, near Brechin in Angus, will provide services under an agreement between NHS Tayside a private operator Netcare UK.

The three-year, £15m deal will provide procedures, including ear, nose and throat and general surgery, to patients from Tayside, Grampian and Fife.

The unit will aim to cut waiting times and secure the rural hospital's future.

It is expected that about 8,000 operations will be carried out over the next three years.

'Faster access'

NHS Tayside chief operating officer Gerry Marr said: "Patients will be treated in the same way as they would in the NHS system and receive the same consistent clinical standards of care.

"It just means we will be able to offer patients faster access to quality health services."

The move comes after the Scottish Executive announced that it would seek to boost health services in Scotland's regions.

Additional surgical services at Stracathro will be carried out mainly in the evenings and weekends, with patients given a choice of treatment dates.