NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday hailed the opening of a multi-million pound healthcare facility.

The First Minister, speaking during a visit to the new health and care hub in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, said the facility would help provide a “massive boost” to the town.

About 30,000 patients are expected to be accommodated across its 38 consulting rooms over the next five years. The £14.7m facility will also include a dental surgery and a community maternity unit. During her visit, the First Minister also saw the site of the £55m Inverurie Community Campus. It is part of a programme of new school construction projects worth £156m under way across the north of Scotland.

The new campus will accommodate up to 1600 students, replacing the existing Inverurie Academy, Inverurie Swimming Pool and Garioch Community Centre.

Sturgeon said: “This new health facility in Inverurie is an excellent example of integrated health and social care, providing people with services located in a single setting, at the heart of the community. It is exactly in line with our vision of improving primary care by allowing GPs to focus their skills where they add most value and allowing patients to be seen at the right time by the right person.

“The new £55m Inverurie Community Campus will be a massive boost for the town, giving young people state-of-the-art world-class facilities in which to learn.

“These facilities are two of many new infrastructure projects planned as part of our significant investment in the north-east.”