Surgical services for cleft-lip babies set tomerge

SURGICAL services in Edinburgh for babies born with a cleft lip and palate will close and move to a single site in Glasgow.

The existing facilities in the two cities will begin merging early next year and will become a single surgical team within six months.

The move is subject to several conditions, including the team ensures a consistent Scotland-wide approach with no deterioration in service and the number of outreach clinics in the country will not be cut.

Further conditions include Scotland becoming a more active participant in the Cleft UK Audit and for the National Services Division to monitor the merger.

Parents protested the move to close the Edinburgh facility and presented a 6,200-signature petition to Holyrood calling for a rethink of moving all cleft lip and palate surgery to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

About 100 babies are born in Scotland each year with the condition and surgery can help them talk and eat.

NHS board chief executives recommended the merger following a review of the current two facilities.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “I have accepted this recommendation from the expert group who have advised that consolidating these procedures will deliver a more sustainable service and improve equity in outcomes for patients, which is our main aim when making any decision.”

Lothian MSP and Scottish Conservative mental health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “This is one of the worst decisions regarding our health service this SNP Government hastaken,andabitterblowto thousands of patients and their families up and down eastern Scotland.

“Ministers have completely failed to listen to the views of clinicians, patients and campaigners.”