THE £15million New Lister Building at Glasgow Royal Infirmary has been officially opened.

The major refurbishment of the building, which is situated in the University Tower, includes three floors for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) laboratory services and two floors for the University of Glasgow.

The facility is one of the most modern of its kind in the UK and houses approximately 190 staff including medical staff, biomedical scientists, clinical scientists and support staff.

Level five boasts specialised testing equipment for MRSA, Salmonella, C-Diff and Legionell as well as a Pathology lab facility for theatre specimens.

The University of Glasgow occupies two floors in the refurbished building to house teaching and research labs..

Level four will deal with around 400,000 tests each year requested by hospitals and GPs in the North of Glasgow.

Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, who ­officially opened the building, said: "This is a hugely impressive refurbishment, made possible by £15m from the Scottish Government as part of our commitment to invest more than £2billion in improving Scotland's health infrastructure.

"This building is now one of the most modern in the UK, and will provide first-class, 21st century facilities for both NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and the University of Glasgow."

Andrew Robertson, Chairman of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: "The ­major refurbishment is another significant investment in laboratory medicine which will see NHSGGC with some of the most modern up-to-date laboratory facilities in the world.

"We are committed to delivering modern, state-of-the-art lab facilities for the people of Glasgow and Clyde while ensuring our medical and technical staff within our laboratories continue to meet the changing and future needs of our patients."

The New Lister Building refurbishment completes a package of investment of some £200m in the past three years in modern laboratory services for NHSGGC and comes just two years after the opening of a new £90m laboratory in the south of the city as part of the new £842m New South Glasgow Hospital project.