Edinburgh's new eye hospital: Why project to replace Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion must be top priority

Will eye hospital be delayed even further in Scottish Government spending review?

Finance Secretary Shona Robison has the chance to end the current uncertainty surrounding Edinburgh's promised new eye hospital when she publishes the results of the Scottish Government's spending review along with her Budget.

The Scottish Government cancelled the much-needed replacement for the no-longer-fit-for-purpose Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion once before, only for a public outcry, a backlash from professionals and a cross-party campaign by politicians to persuade them to do a U-turn.

But the timetable has already slipped since the promise was renewed in 2021 and the earliest date for the new eye hospital to open is now late 2027. It would be cruel and short-sighted to delay the project any further by failing to include it as one of the schemes the government is willing to fund immediately.

The current Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion is officially not fit for purpose: the lifts are often broken; the roof leaks, leading to the cancellation of operations; and it is suspected of containing RAAC concrete, which could force the building to close on safety grounds. Picture: Greg Macvean.

Patients and staff at the current Eye Pavilion have to put up with a building which has been recognised as not fit-for-purpose since 2014 – a building where the lifts frequently break down and the roof leaks, sometimes leading to operations being cancelled. And it is also suspected of containing crumbly, cheap RAAC concrete, which is linked to sudden collapse and could force closure of the building on safety grounds.

In the context of the spending review, NHS Lothian has listed the new eye hospital in the top-priority Category A – projects which are required within the next five years – making it more urgent than completion of the also much-needed new cancer centre at the Western General Hospital.

The price tag for the new eye hospital is already £112.5 million but the longer it is delayed the more expensive it will become and the more will have to be spent patching up the current building.

When the project was cancelled in December 2020, the government argued that services could be dispersed to St John's Hospital in Livingston and to optometrists in communities across the region. Eye health specialists made clear this was not a feasible approach – optometrists were already providing as much care as they could; and carrying out eye surgery in non-specialist theatres was not good practice.

Edinburgh had built an international reputation as a centre of excellence and to maintain that it was essential to have state-of-the-art facilities for eye surgery and treatment but also for training and research – and that meant a specialist hospital located in the right place. The proposed site at Little France – close to Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary and other medical resources, as well as the BioQuarter – fits the bill exactly.

Edinburgh City Council unanimously backed the campaign for the new eye hospital in 2021 and during the debate there were moving accounts of personal gratitude for the prompt attention available at the Eye Pavilion. Eyesight is immensely precious and sometimes eye problems require urgent attention to prevent blindness. Other patients depend on regular appointments for crucial treatment to stop their condition deteriorating. Either way, a specialist hospital staffed by experts in their field able to provide excellent care is something which must be treasured and maintained.

Everyone knows the Scottish Government’s finances are under pressure, not least in the health sector. But Edinburgh’s new eye hospital should be recognised as a top priority.