New elective treatment centres for procedures such as hip and knee surgeries will be an “absolute priority” for another SNP government, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The SNP leader wants to invest £200 million in five centres to help deal with the health needs of the country’s ageing population.
Work has begun to secure sites in Tayside, Lothian, Grampian and Highland heath boards.
They will be operated like the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank which specialises in elective treatment and treats people referred from health boards across Scotland.
They will mean patients will receive elective procedures such as hip, knee or cataract surgery as quickly as possible, Ms Sturgeon said.
By 2035, it is estimated 100,000 of these procedures will need to be carried out annually.
Ms Sturgeon first announced plans for the centres last October.
On a visit to Arden House in Fife, a voluntary organisation which provides day centre services for older people living independently, she said: “An SNP government will invest the resources the NHS needs now to make sure our health service can meet the challenges of the future.
“These new treatment centres have the potential to completely transform the lives of older people across Scotland and the SNP are clear that this will be an absolute priority if we are re-elected.”
She added: “We are the only party committing to an expansion of the health service to provide the specialist services older people need. It’s now time for the other parties to give the same cast-iron guarantee to our older people.”