With the temporary closure of Edinburgh’s Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion from October 28, a grandmother who has complex eye conditions is fearful of losing the last of her sight in case of an emergency. Sylvia Paton, 62, has been a patient there since it opened in 1969 and has appointments at least four times a year. While all patients will be relocated to other NHS Lothian facilities, Sylvia fears the dispersal of these departments will cause delays and complications for patients. For the visually impaired, the familiarity of the route to the eye center is vital since taxis to different sites could be unaffordable.
The Chalmers Street building was not considered fit for purpose in 2015, and the Eyey Pavillion will close its doors for six months while contractors replace two waste pipes and remove asbestos. The £45m replacement eye hospital sited on the Royal Infirmary campus at Little France was agreed upon in 2018 but the funding was later withdrawn by the Scottish government. However, in 2021, then-Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said a new eye hospital would be part of a £10bn investment in the NHS estate over ten years. The cost to replace the Eye Pavilion is now estimated at £123m.
The contingency plans for six months’ closure are being rushed into place, and there are concerns that many vulnerable, frail, and elderly patients will be forced to travel elsewhere, perhaps to multiple different locations, for vital eye care. A charity, Sight Scotland, is sounding the alarm over the “health and wellbeing of eye patients overlooked once again.” The temporary closure raises serious questions about patient care, continuity of services, and access to essential treatments, says Craig Spalding, the charity’s chief executive.
According to NHS Lothian, the relocation of services from the Eye Pavilion is “extremely complex” and requires alternative spaces that provide the right clinical environment. Michelle Carr, NHS Lothian’s chief officer acute services, states that “every effort is being made by our teams to minimize and mitigate disruption to patients and to co-locate sub-specialties together where possible.” The priority is to ensure the continuity of safe and effective care for patients, and confirmed details of the location of each clinic will be provided as early as possible
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