We demand answers on the future of the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion.
The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion (PAEP) will be closed for at least six months for emergency plumbing repairs.
Despite being declared unfit for purpose 10 years ago, the Scottish Government decided a new eye hospital will not be funded due to pause on all capital spend projects in NHS Lothian.
We’re working with MSPs and the Scottish Government to ensure there are interim plans for existing and future patients to receive the quality eyecare they deserve.
We must keep pushing NHS Lothian and the Scottish Government for answers, both for immediate solutions and long-term improvements. How many more lives must be disrupted before funding for a new eye hospital is finally secured?
No voice left unheard.
An estimated 45,260 of individuals live in local authority areas served by the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion (PAEP).
The Scottish Government's 2024-25 budget made no mention of a new eye hospital - despite the current building being declared unfit for purpose in 2014.
10 years later, and we're still no further forward.
With leaky roofs, broken lifts and waiting times at an unprecedented high, we’re campaigning with MSPs and other visual impairment organisations for a new eye hospital without further delay.
After years of broken promises, the Cabinet Secretary for Health has said the eye hospital is a priority, but plans for a new eye hospital are still on hold until after the UK Government’s budget at the end of October 2024.
The news that urgent repair work at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion will now be carried out at the end of October is worrying, as this will severely disrupt patient services for at least six months. Outpatient waiting times have quadrupled since 2014. Now, less than a third of patients are seen within 12 weeks, compared to 90% 10 years ago.
Patients will be reallocated to facilities at St John's, the Lauriston Building, the Edinburgh Royal or at East Lothian Community Hospital.
Our Actions
- We wrote directly to Jim Crombie, Interim Chief Executive Officer of NHS Lothian, asking that the safety and wellbeing of patients remains NHS Lothian’s top priority.
- We hosted a round table discussion in the Scottish Parliament with MSPs, NHS Lothian’s Interim Chief Executive Jim Crombie, and representatives from Visibility Scotland, RNIB Scotland, our Policy Group and the Keep Edinburgh Eye Pavilion campaign.
- Our CEO, Craig Spalding, publicly spoke out about the impact of the eye hospital closure in the Edinburgh Evening News and The Herald.
- We pressed NHS Lothian to clarify plans on where patients will be reallocated, access to patient support, accessible communications of appointment changes and longer-term contingency plans if repairs exceed the six-month timeframe.
Are you a patient who has been affected by the poor conditions and the emergency closure of the Edinburgh eye hospital? We want to hear from you.
Drop us an email at policy@sightscotland.org.uk.
Sign the petition for a new Edinburgh eye hospital
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