Ten senior doctors have blasted plans to open up parts of Edinburgh's new Sick Kids hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes after NHS Lothian staff were informed that the Department of Clinical Neurosciences will be moved from the Western General to the new Little France location on May 11.
However, according to the Daily Record, doctors have branded such a move during the COVID-19 battle as “dangerous”.
According to the Daily Record, intensive care consultants at the Western General wrote to NHS Medical Director Tracey Gillies saying: “Now that the pandemic is beginning to take hold, we need to be completely focussed on the task ahead.
"To add to that the uncertainty of a service move would be a dangerous distraction at a time of our greatest need.”
They also highlighted fears for nurses, writing: “To relocate some of them mid pandemic would be highly disruptive and create unnecessary anxiety.”
They warned a move would result in a “critical shortage” of medical staff to cover intensive care: “This will be unsafe, and quality of care will suffer as a result.”
The decision was announced by Tim Davison, who until recently was the chief executive of NHS Lothian.
He informed staff that the DCN would open next month saying: “The Cabinet Secretary has announced that the move of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences to its new home at Little France is to take place from the week beginning 11 May.”
He added: “The migration of the service will have the additional benefit of removing pressure from the Critical Care facility at the Western General Hospital and freeing up valuable extra bed capacity to cater for patients suffering from the Covid-19 virus.”
Last year, health secretary Jeane Freeman had to pull plans to move into the 150 million pound hospital over ventilation issue fears.
However, the project has two elements - the new relocation of Edinburgh Sick Kids and a new Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) from the city’s Western General.
The doctors raised concerns over how it would be possible to safely move in the current climate saying: “We cannot see how removals could be safely carried out in a potentially infected hospital environment.”
They concluded: “We believe that the DCN move should be delayed until the pandemic is over and it can be carried out in a safe, orderly and sensible manner.”
NHS Medical Director Tracey Gillies said: "In recognition of the changing demands that COVID-19 has presented us with, we have met with groups of clinicians involved in the move to discuss their concerns and agree a suitable way forward.
"More than ever our plans need to be flexible, and the approach that has been agreed will enable phases of the move to go ahead, without impacting on the vital work the critical care team and others are doing in response to the pandemic.
"It is worth noting that routine clinics, scans and surgery are not taking place with face to face appointments at present, and this reduction in services, as a result of COVID-19, will help to minimise some of the challenges that moving a full service would involve."
