Edinburgh eye hospital: Go-ahead for project as Scottish Government funding announced in Budget

Ms Robison told MSPs that the Scottish Government would fund a replacement for the Capital’s Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, along with two other hospitals elsewhere in Scotland.

Shona Robsion announced the Scottish Government would fund the new eye hospital

The Scottish Government first approved a replacement for the Eye Pavilion in 2018, but then cancelled it, only to be forced into a U turn during the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections. But last year’s Budget imposed a two-year freeze on major projects and all work on the new eye hospital was halted.

The existing Eye Pavilion - declared unfit for purpose in 2014 - is currently closed for six months to allow urgent repairs to its plumbing system, with services scattered to other NHS sites in Lothian - a situation which campaigners said underlined the case for a new hospital.

Ms Robison’s announcement that the new hospital will now go ahead will be welcomed by campaigners who feared the Eye Pavilion’s temporary closure could become permanent and lead to the loss of vital specialist eyecare from Edinburgh.

Health spending was the centrepiece of the Budget presented to the Scottish Parliament this afternoon.

Ms Robison announced almost £200 million to reduce waiting times and increase capacity, provide additional support for GPs, and boost social care spending as well as funding more dental training places,new specialist Long Covid nurses and clinics and more community-based support for teenage mental health.

But she continued: “It is not just day-to-day resource spending that will increase. We are also increasing health capital spending.

“That means I can announce to the chamber today that this Budget will fund the replacement of the Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh, the Belford hospital in Fort William, and Monklands hospital in Airdrie - every single project a priority for the people of Scotland; every project something members of this chamber have called for; delivered by this Budget and by this SNP government.”

Lothian Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said she was delighted that after years and years of campaigning Edinburgh was finally getting a new eye pavilion.

She said: "This project is long overdue, and we need the work to start immediately. The current facility has been not fit for purpose for over a decade and has now been closed for essential repairs. So, ensuring patients get the transport they need to access vital eye services will be critical over the next few months.

"I want to pay tribute to all the tireless campaigners and sight loss charities, and my fellow Edinburgh MSPs that have been pushing hard for a new hospital for years.

"Our next mission is to make sure that this facility is delivered in the best possible condition and at the quickest possible speed."

Lothian Tory MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “This is now the third time that SNP Ministers have given the green light for a new Eye Hospital – it is clear that poor leadership and decision making has resulted in the situation we find ourselves, with a hospital closed for emergency repairs.

“It is coming on ten years since the hospital was deemed unfit for purpose and ophthalmology waiting times have become far longer during that period.

“A concerted campaign to keep the commitment of a replacement Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, has kept the promise of a new eye hospital on the agenda.

“I will continue to fight alongside the campaigners for a new hospital which is desperately needed and must be delivered – residents across Lothian deserve nothing less.

“We must now see urgent action to have a fully operational replacement eye hospital built and open as soon as possible to start restoring eye care across the South East of Scotland.

“I will be looking to urgently meet with Ministers to find out how this project will be taken forward and when building work will start.”