Edinburgh Eye Pavilion: Ministers urged to make statement to Scottish Parliament over closure

NHS Lothian announced last week that the entire hospital would shut down while two waste pipes are replaced and asbestos material is removed. Patients will be directed to “other locations” for appointments, but no details have been given.

Around 300 staff are based at the Eye Pavilion, which normally sees about 1,400 outpatient appointments every week and around 535 inpatient appointments a month.

The current Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion was declared not fit for purpose in 2014. | TSPL

The building was declared unfit for purpose 10 years ago, but despite agreeing to plans for a replacement hospital in 2018 the Scottish Government then withdrew funding in 2020 before U-turning the following year and agreeing to pay for a new hospital. However, the project is now on hold because of the government’s two-year freeze on major NHS capital projects.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton, who is also MSP for Edinburgh Western, is now calling for the Scottish Government to deliver a statement in the Scottish Parliament on the temporary closure of the current building.

He has pushed, along with other MSPs from across the political spectrum, for the promised new eye hospital to go ahead.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “While it is important that these works are carried out for the safety of all staff and patients, the fact is that operations are taking place in buildings that are no longer fit for purpose.

“The SNP’s catastrophic and shortsighted decision to cancel the construction of a replacement eye hospital due to budget pressures showed a real lack of foresight.

“An NHS construction consultant told me that if capital projects like the Eye Pavilion are not allowed to complete their pre-construction planning work, much of that work, amounting to millions of pounds of investment will be lost as these projects will go back to square one.

“People across Edinburgh and the Lothians deserve to hear from ministers about the impact these closures will have and what steps will now be taken to ensure that they have access to care into the future.

“I will continue to work with patients and campaigners to make the case for a purpose built replacement eye hospital.”

Patients have warned that travelling long distances and making unfamiliar journeys for appointments will be a “nightmare” for people with sight loss. They also raised concerns about how operations would take place without ready access to specialist equipment and asked how emergency cases would be handled.

And amid fears that the temporary closure could eventually become permanent, a cross-party group of MSPs has written to NHS Lothian chief executive Caroline Hiscox, asking for a guarantee that the Eye Pavilion will reopen in six months.