Review ordered after eye hospital funding withdrawn in Edinburgh

NHS Lothian has been told to carry out a review of its eye care services after the Scottish government withdrew funding for a new £45m eye hospital for Edinburgh.

The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Chalmers Street was found to be unfit for purpose in 2015.

An agreement was put in place in 2018 for a replacement at Little France.

However in December 2020 the government said it was not in a position to fund the replacement.

In a Scottish Parliament debate on Thursday, brought by Lothian MSP Miles Briggs, MSPs warned the decision would leave the capital one of the few major UK cities without its own eye hospital.

Mr Briggs said: "The decision by SNP ministers to cut £45m of funding from NHS Lothian for the replacement Princess Alexandria Eye Pavilion is concerning and should be reconsidered."

But the Scottish government said new technology and medical advances meant many patients could now be treated just as effectively using virtual clinics and community optometrists.

It said staff could also be trained to carry out treatment in local centres nearer patients' homes, with operations held at the new elective centre at St John's Hospital, Livingston.

Jacquie Campbell, NHS Lothian's chief officer for acute services, said: "The funding decision on NHS Lothian's plans for a new eye hospital has been disappointing.

"We are currently reviewing alternative service delivery models, building on the significant, multi-professional redesign work that was already undertaken.

"Through this work, we will develop a modern pathway and service model proposal which will help to ensure that we can continue to deliver high quality eye care and treatments for our patients."

A Scottish government spokesman confirmed they had asked the health board to review its eye care services and it was waiting for their recommendations and proposals.

He added: "There are no plans, and never have been, to move emergency or complex eye surgeries further afield. As an alternative to a full replacement of the Eye Pavilion, we are suggesting that more work be done to develop a more regional - rather than centralised - model of care, which is increasingly how modern eye services are delivered.

"This includes redesigning pathways to enable patients to access care closer to home, and using the new Elective Centre in Livingston to carry out additional eye surgery to increase capacity in the region."