Row over bed cuts
Bosses accused of ‘ downgrading’ the hospital
Claims have been made that St John’s Hospital is being “deliberately downgraded” through ward closures and cuts to the number of beds.
The accusation was made after it was revealed the number of intensive care beds at the hospital had dropped from 25 to 14 between 2003 and last year and the number of general beds fell from 503 to 432 over the same period.
And just last month health bosses said the hospital’s children’s ward would close to inpatients over the summer due to staff shortages.
The figures were revealed by the Scottish Conservative Party who said the numbers contradicted assurances made by NHS Lothian that the hospital was not being downgraded.
Damian Timson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives on West Lothian Council, claims the hospital is being downgraded. He said: “The reduction in beds is extremely disappointing.
“It confirms the fears of patients and staff that the SNP just doesn’t take St John’s seriously.
“But the truth is people all across West Lothian, as well as many in Edinburgh and elsewhere in central Scotland, depend on this facility.
“When you add the partial closure of the paediatric ward at St John’s to this, the question is how committed to West Lothian healthcare are the SNP and NHS Lothian.
“The residents of West Lothian are being treated like second-class citizens and the SNP need to start providing a quality healthcare service across the central belt.”
And Labour MSP Neil Findlay agreed. He said: “These reports are more evidence of NHS Lothian and the SNP government saying one thing in public and doing another thing in private.
“I will not stand back and allow our hospital to be downgraded by stealth. The silence of SNP MSPs on this is deafening.”
Livingston SNP MSP Angela Constance said St John’s remained an acute hospital and would not have its status downgraded.
She said: “St John’s is a major acute and teaching hospital and will continue to be so, providing excellent health services for the people of West Lothian.
“Bed numbers have reduced for a number of reasons, particularly due to the way that healthcare is delivered and medical advances which have led to shorter hospital stays.
“This Scottish Government have already invested £10million in St John’s, which includes the shortstay elective surgery unit, a new MRI scanner, a refurbished labour ward and special care baby unit and the new regional eating disorders unit.”
And Fiona Hyslop MSP said: “Bed numbers no longer reflect the quality of care and number of patients treated in the way they did 15 years ago, We see more day surgery and ‘ hospital at home’ initiatives and drives to ensure older people don’t stay longer than they absolutely need to.”
Jacquie Campbell, chief officer for acute services NHS Lothian, said St John’s plays a “key role in the delivery of health services across Lothian”.
She continued: “The board’s commitment to the continuing development of St John’s is evident in the significant investment that has been made.
“A £ 3.5m upgrade of theatre facilities is currently underway and this follows improvements to the labour ward and special care baby unit, the installation of a new MRI scanner and the creation of a short-stay elective day surgery centre – investments in excess of £15m.
“Changing models of care, such as a move to more day surgery and services such as ‘hospital at home’ which reduce hospital admissions and shorten length of stay, mean that overall fewer hospital beds are now required.
“In saying this, the number of funded intensive care beds at St John’s hospital has actually remained at five since 2005, as reported in the Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group report.”