Dunfermline's new purpose build ambulance station is a £1.3 million state of the art facility.

The Pitreavie centre, which was officially opened today (Thursday) by Cabinet Secretary for Health, Shona Robison, was created with its staff and patients in mind.

With easy access to major trunk roads in West Fife and the M90, management believe that response times to emergency calls will be improved greatly through the relocation.

While inspecting what the new station has to offer, MSP Shona Robison, said: "It's a fantastic facility and a great place for staff.

"I've been able to see the training facilities and areas where staff can get a bit of down time, particularly after a difficult job.

"It provides a very important service to the community and it has been refurbished to a very high standard.

"There's an ICT facility and I have seen new kit for major traumas, it has been truly custom built for the needs of the staff.

"Our health and care services are changing and we now have paramedics trained to work in the community, supporting our primary care services.

"It's not just about taking people to the hospital but also trying to help people in their own homes."

The new station will serve as an operational base for 44 staff with three emergency ambulances, one 'urgent tier' ambulance, a paramedic response unit and seven patient transport service vehicles.

The Scottish Ambulance Service relocated from its base at Keir Hardie Terrace to the site at 1 Pitreavie Way at the end of June, after NHS bosses decided the premises were no longer fit for purpose.

Paul Raynor, Interim Head of Service in Dunfermline, said: "It's the difference between day and night compared to the old station.

"It's central to the community and it has been built with them and staff in mind.

"The old station did not meet our demands for vehicles or conference facilities and it's now more efficient.

"When we were looking for a building, you look at targets and the area and it was just a matter of waiting until a unit became available here.

"We have been gradually moving our services here since the end of June and now we are fully operational.

"There are major trunk roads on our door step and these great links allow us to get to places quicker and that might be Edinburgh or Glasgow, so this place is for the wider community also."