Work to replace two ageing health centres declared not fit for purpose is moving on, with initial blueprints now drawn up.
Plans for a new £6 million state-of-the-art centre for Lochgelly and a £5m facility for Kincardine are to to be submitted to the Scottish Government for approval.
The buildings would replace the current centres in the west Fife towns which are said to be “completely inadequate”. It is predicted both will be operational by 2021.
Lochgelly health centre was built in the 1970s and has almost 11,000 patients on its books.
NHS Fife said every effort had been made to modify the building to deliver modern, integrated health and social care.
The authority said the building does not meet modern design standards and there is no capacity for future growth, despite a rising patient list.
The Kincardine centre was originally a 1930s-built police station and has been adapted as far as possible.
Health chiefs said it is not fit for purpose as corridors and treatment rooms do not meet minimum standards, there is no disabled access in some areas and no storage.
A report to the NHS Fife board said: “All possible reasonable changes have been made to the building.
“There is no capacity for further growth.”
The new centres form part of NHS Fife’s capital investment programme for 2019-20, approved by the board earlier this year.
Workshops and events were held with GP practices, other healthcare professionals, social work, councillors and community councils before plans were drawn up.
The aim is to create fully-integrated centres for both health and social care with the potential to target health inequalities.
The board said the buildings would be modern, safe and fit for purpose and would comply with all legislation and guidance.
Nicky Connor, interim director of Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, said further work would be done to develop the model of care.
“This is not just about buildings, it’s about the services that will be delivered for patients,” she said.
“It’s modelled around health and social care in an integrated way. It requires to be multi-professional and we need to work with the third sector.”
