Edinburgh Eye Pavilion: John Swinney challenged over 6-month closure and failure to build new hospital

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First Minister John Swinney has been challenged in the Scottish Parliament over the dramatic decision by health chiefs in Lothian to close an entire hospital for six months for urgent repairs.

Edinburgh's Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion is to close at the end of October, with staff relocated and patients directed to other sites for appointments, to allow the replacement of two waste pipes and the removal of asbestos.  

Around 300 staff are based at the Eye Pavilion in Chalmers Street, which was declared not fit for purpose 10 years ago.  It normally sees about 1,400 outpatient appointments every week and around 535 inpatient appointments a month.

The current Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Chalmers Street was declared not fit for purpose in 2014.  Picture: Greg Macvean.The current Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Chalmers Street was declared not fit for purpose in 2014.  Picture: Greg Macvean.
The current Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Chalmers Street was declared not fit for purpose in 2014. Picture: Greg Macvean. | Greg Macvean.

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Plans for a new replacement eye hospital at Little France are currently on hold because of a two-year freeze on capital spending ordered by the Scottish Government after its capital funding was cut.

At First Minister's Questions, Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: "In 2014, the current eye pavilion was declared not fit for purpose. There is now real anger about the latest situation, which demonstrates, yet again, the need for a new eye hospital.

"Ministers need to take responsibility. They have cancelled the new hospital on two occasions. Will the First Minister personally meet campaigners and cross-party MSPs to get the replacement hospital back on track?"

Mr Swinney said he appreciated the anxiety that would be felt because of the situation.  But he continued: "As we would expect it to, the health board is working to ensure that there is no diminution of the service and support that are available to patients, so that they can have their needs met."

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He said the government was wrestling with capital funding pressures and referred to Finance Secretary Shona Robison's statements  about the reduction in the capital budget. 

"That, combined with the significant increase in construction costs that has arisen because of sky-high inflation, has had a consequential effect on our ability to afford projects. Those are the realities that we are wrestling with.

"I assure Mr Briggs that the Government is doing everything that we can to deliver that capital programme, but we cannot deliver it as timeously as we would like to because of the effect of inflation and the cuts to our capital budget. I assure him that the Government is focused on finding solutions to those challenging issues."

Eye Pavilion patients have said they are “devastated” and “appalled” by the closure and have warned about the difficulties they will face getting to alternative locations fr ppointments.

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The Scottish Government first agreed to a replacement for the Eye Pavilion in 2018, but then cancelled it in December 2020, telling NHS Lothian that it was "not in a position to fund a new eye hospital now or in the foreseeable future".

After an outcry by the public, politicians and professionals, the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon did a U-turn during the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, saying the hospital would go ahead after all. But the project’s timetable fell behind before it was even started and then it was hit by the spending freeze.

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