Hospital saved by Sturgeon under threat again

A HOSPITAL saved from the axe by Nicola Sturgeon could face closure again as its health board seeks to make at least £60million of cuts.]

A leaked document from Scotland’s biggest health board shows Lightburn Hospital in Glasgow could be shut five years after the then Health Secretary Miss Sturgeon stepped in to keep it open.

In 2011, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) tried to close down the elderly patients’ hospital to save £650,000 a year.

NHS bosses planned to transfer its services, which include a specialist unit for stroke patients, to Stobhill Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Now the hospital is under threat again from the cash-strapped health board.

A spokesman confirmed the closure of Lightburn is an option being considered.

Last night there was a fresh call for the Scottish Government to step in to help.

Matt McLaughlin, Unison’s regional organiser for Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: ‘Despite the political rhetoric, this is the tenth year in a row that NHSGGC has been given less money than it costs to run the service.’

The internal document highlights that the health board was last year operating beyond its budget, while reliant on one-off cash injections from the Scottish Government to keep running with extra beds to meet patent demand. The document states: ‘We need to deliver the same level of service for less cost to continue to meet the needs of patients while reducing spending.’

NHSGGC now expects to balance its budget by the end of 2015-16 and said Lightburn Hospital’s closure is only one of the options it is looking at. The board said: ‘In common with every other public sector body, NHSGGC is examining all of our services to see how we can deliver these more efficiently.’

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘This draft discussion paper for the board’s directors was written prior to the Scottish Government’s budget being put forward in December, when a substantial increase in NHS funding was announced.

‘We’ve already substantially increased funding for all health boards, with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s budget increasing by 21.3 per cent under this Government.’

Any major service change would need approval from the Scottish Government.