Edinburgh health: In-patient services at Astley Ainslie hospital to be transferred to East Lothian

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In-patient services at Edinburgh’s Astley Ainslie Hospital are to be transferred to East Lothian after health bosses said many of the hospital’s buildings were no longer fit for purpose.

NHS Lothian said the current condition of the buildings on the Astley Ainslie campus in Morningside were “creating significant challenges for the teams to safely deliver in-patient services”.

Plans for the move to East Lothian Community Hospital in Haddington are expected to be approved by the end of the month.

Edinburgh’s Astley Ainslie hospital is set to lose its in-patient services  Edinburgh’s Astley Ainslie hospital is set to lose its in-patient services
Edinburgh’s Astley Ainslie hospital is set to lose its in-patient services

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In a briefing to MSPs, NHS Lothian said many of the Astley Ainslie’s 100-year-old buildings were “past their natural life span”.

And it continued: “Despite the ongoing investment that has been undertaken in the buildings’ physical infrastructure to improve conditions and improve fire safety, and resilience, many are not fit for purpose as a modern healthcare facility.

“In November, the cold snap brought heightened pressures for teams to secure internal building temperatures within the in-patient ward buildings to comfortable levels. Fire safety and poor working conditions remain a concern.”

The health board said it had looked at a number of other possible locations for the in-patient services. “Only East Lothian Community Hospital has capacity to accommodate the beds required.”

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But Lothian Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said he believed the proposed move would cause a lot of concern among staff, patients and relatives.

He said: “They’re planning to close the four remaining wards and move the services out to Haddington. If you’re a nurse or an auxiliary or working in the Astley Ainslie, how do you get to Haddington if you don’t drive a car?

“And if this service covers the whole of Lothian, so West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian, if you don’t drive and you’ve got somebody who’s in hospital - and the people we’re talking about are recovering from neurological onditons, strokes and so on, so they’re in for probably quite a number of weeks - if you have to visit them, how do you get to Haddington?”

“It seems to me this proposed move is purely driven by a financial issue rather than looking at what’s best for the welfare of the patients.”

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Mr Balfour said NHS Lothian was due to brief MSPs at the end of March, but most of the decisions would have been taen by then because it was going to the health board’s management team this month. “It feels like a decision has already been made without consulting properly.”

He said outpatient services and a GP practice based on the campus would remain at the Astley Ainslie site, but all overnight accommodation was being transferred, thought he said the number of beds was likely to be reduced.

And he said: “At the moment, the Astley Ainslie has a physiotherapt department, an occupational therapy department and other departments as well. Will they transfer as well? Or how will the holistic support be given?”

NHS Lothian said staff had been told of the planned move, but preparatory work was “at the earliest stages” and proposed timescales would be presented at the end of the month.

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Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: “It is concerning that the condition of Astley Ainslie Hospital In-Patient Services has deteriorated to the extent that the service is urgently seeking to move.

“SNP minister have been aware for years that the hospital is no longer fit to purpose and we should have seen more proactive planning with the health board.

“A smooth transition for patients and staff to a new facility will be crucial to minimise the disruption to services.

“Previous Cabinet Secretaries for Health have a track record of underinvesting in NHS Lothian infrastructure and the relocation of Astley Ainslie Hospital in-patient services, must be seen as a priority.”

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