Edinburgh Eye Pavilion: Sight loss patients face journey to Livingston during 6-month closure

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All inpatient services and day surgery from Edinburgh’s Eye Pavilion will be switched to St John's Hospital, Livingston, while the pavilion is closed for urgent repairs.

But while emergency cases will be taken by ambulance, there are no plans to help other patients with transport.

And now there are fears that people who may already have struggled to get to the Eye Pavilion because of poor vision and do not have relatives to take them could opt to cancel their appointments and find themselves at greater risk of losing their sight.

The Eye Pavilion will close for six months from the end of OctoberThe Eye Pavilion will close for six months from the end of October
The Eye Pavilion will close for six months from the end of October | JP License

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NHS Lothian announced last month that the Eye Pavilion would close temporarily for six months from the end of October so that two waste pipes can be replaced and asbestos removed.

The Eye Pavilion is NHS Lothian’s busiest location for outpatient appointments, with up to 1,600 slots every week, as well as more than 130 inpatient appointments. Altogether, its services will be spread over five locations during the closure.

The Eye Pavilion's Acute Referral Clinic (ARC), which deals with emergency cases referred by doctors and opticians, will be relocated across the road to the Lauriston Building, which NHS Lothian says will also serve as temporary home to many of the Eye Pavilion’s clinics.

Other sites which will be used are the new Sick Kids hospital, the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and East Lothian Community Hospital.

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But Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: “There is no money for travel costs for patients, which I don't think is good enough. We need to work out other options. Is there a bespoke patient transport network we could build during this period, to get voluntary drivers to take people? Or are there charitable trusts we could appeal to?

All eye surgery will transfer from the Eye Pavilion to St John’s Hospital, LivingstonAll eye surgery will transfer from the Eye Pavilion to St John’s Hospital, Livingston
All eye surgery will transfer from the Eye Pavilion to St John’s Hospital, Livingston

“These are the most vulnerable people, who are visually impaired or completely blind. Being able to navigate to the Eye Pavilion for a lot of them has been problematic, but now they' may have to go out to Livingston.

“If you've got a loved one who can drive you, that's fine. A lot of people won't have that. And some people will not have the money for taxis and so will just not go to their appointments and they will be at greater risk of losing their sight.”

The Eye Pavilion was declared not fit for purpose in 2014, but a replacement hospital - already cancelled and reinstated - is now on hold because of the Scottish Government’s freeze on major infrastructure spending.

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Mr Briggs said NHS Lothian - the lowest-funded health board in Scotland per head of population - was in a difficult situation. "They have been acutely aware of the high risk of the Eye Pavilion. We're now in this situation because we haven't had a new hospital delivered over the last decade. And the health board are picking up the pieces.”

Lothian Labour MSP Sarah Boyack echoed the worries about what the switch of services to Livingston would mean. She said: “I am extremely concerned about the potential impact on patients of some services being moved to St Johns, while maintenance work is carried out at the Eye Pavilion.

“Most sight loss patients are unable to drive and thus rely on public transport or expensive taxis. With no transport support being offered, I've already heard from patients worried about how this will impact on their health and access to services.

“For patients who cannot rely on a driver, this will cause major disruption and is another tragic example of why we desperately need a new eye hospital.”

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Jim Crombie, deputy chief executive of NHS Lothian, said great care was being taken to keep disruption to a minimum.

But he acknowledged there was likely to be an impact on waiting times both in ophthalmology and in other specialties where the new clinics were being relocated.

He said: “We are devising a plan that allows us to vacate the Eye Pavilion building during this essential work, while ensuring that patients can continue to be seen and treated throughout.

“So far, we have identified five locations with the necessary clinically appropriate facilities where we can relocate outpatient clinics, however we are still working through the complex logistics this will involve.

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“Our migration plan has tried to spread the numbers evenly across our facilities and our clinical teams are working to prioritise patients with the most urgent need for treatment soonest.

“Patient and staff safety are always our chief consideration, and our teams are working hard to minimise disruption. Please be assured, patients will be given the details of their new appointment with updated times and locations as soon as we can, and we expect that to be within the next fortnight.”

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