Health chiefs in East Lothian today confirmed a community hospital ward will remain closed as NHS pressures continue.
NHS Lothian's Gold Command group met today to review a decision to temporarily move staff from North Berwick's Edington Hospital to East Lothian Community Hospital (ELCH), Haddington.
And they confirmed the decision, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service yesterday, to keep the hospital's only ward closed.
Alison Macdonald, Chief Officer of East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and a member of command group who considered the issue, said she understood local disappointment at the decision.
But she said: "Transferring the staff who support Edington’s six inpatient beds has allowed us to open a total of 16 beds at the ELCH, that’s a net increase of ten beds in East Lothian.
"We can only do that by having more staff in one place. It allows greater flexibility in how staff are deployed day to day. At a time when demand for healthcare services has reached unprecedented heights and when resources are so stretched, every single bed counts.”
Supporters of Edington Hospital had described the decision to move staff out in September as "tearing the heart out of the community."
Mrs Macdonald said: "We understand there will be disappointment in the local community, but we also have to look at the bigger picture.
"Transferring the staff means we can keep more beds open and look after more people while preserving patient and staff safety during this exceptionally difficult period.”
A community hospital which saw its only ward close after staff were temporarily moved out is not expected to reopen this year as NHS Lothian continues to struggle with recruitment issues.
