North Berwick and Dunbar health facility closures criticised

Health chiefs held a lengthy meeting last week where they were faced with “extremely difficult decisions” as they looked to close a funding gap of more than £10 million.

Members of East Lothian’s Integration Joint Board (IJB) – responsible for planning services for health and social care in the county – took the decision to close both The Abbey care home in North Berwick and Blossom House at Belhaven Community Hospital.

The decision was also made for the permanent closure of the inpatient hospital beds at North Berwick’s Edington Hospital (nine beds) and Belhaven (six beds).

READ MORE: Board votes to close care homes and hospital beds

Councillor George McGuire said at the meeting that the decision would “rip the heart out of East Lothian”.

He said: “Closures of our care homes, our hospitals, is really unacceptable.

“It has not happened overnight, the state of these premises has been ongoing for 50, 60 years, probably.

“It is probably a sad indictment on people in authority over those years that it has never been improved as time has gone on.

“When you look at the impact all these actions are potentially going to have, it is on the people we are supposed to be helping and protecting – the patients, first and foremost.

“Then, we’ve talked about their families, support staff, and then the workers how it impacts on them and local jobs and having to travel.

“We are moving the patients and people to other hospitals.

“In this case, we have moved them to Haddington and the East Lothian Community Hospital, the Western General Hospital and the Royal Infirmary [of Edinburgh].

“Already, we are talking about closing ward six in East Lothian Community Hospital to move them somewhere else.

“We are moving them into hospitals that are already oversaturated with patients, we cannot get people out quick enough because there is nowhere for them to go.

“How long before we start moving them to St John’s Hospital [in Livingston] and then further afield?”

'Least worst decisions'

Fiona Wilson, the board’s chief officer, told the virtual meeting that the closures, along with cuts to funding for community services were the “least worst decisions” possible for the cash-strapped health service.

The IJB receives funding from its partners, East Lothian Council and NHS Lothian, to deliver integrated health and social care services for people in the county.

The current financial climate has resulted in increased financial pressures across the public sector, with the rate of inflation and the costs of goods and services significantly impacting daily operational delivery of services.

About £6 million of savings will be achieved by applying tighter controls on spending and exploring the most cost-effective ways of providing services through improved internal processes.

However, to bridge the gap, further proposals involving “significant service redesign and the withdrawal of some services” were submitted to the IJB to achieve a balanced budget.

These proposals included reductions in funding to support the primary care link worker programme, as well as decisions impacting on the two hospitals and care homes.

The latter proposals outlined escalating concerns regarding the outdated building infrastructures at the Belhaven and Abbey sites, which, despite ongoing maintenance repairs, were still not fully meeting health and care standards.

The Abbey has an inadequate provision of showering/bathing facilities for the number of residents and does not fully comply with infection protection and control protocols, while occurrences at the Belhaven site related to security, fire hazards and lone working were posing risks to staff and residents on the premises.

Board convenor Councillor Shamin Akhtar told the meeting she was supporting the plans with “disappointment and great regret”.

The depute leader of East Lothian Council said: “This year’s budget setting process has been unprecedented.

“East Lothian has one of Scotland’s fastest-growing populations, and yet this has not been reflected in the Scottish Government’s funding allocations.

“The IJB has been forced into this incredibly difficult position.

“In approving a balanced budget today, the IJB is acutely aware that our decisions will have a direct impact on service provision and the people of East Lothian.

Losing 60 beds

“After careful and considerate evaluation, it was agreed the financial saving proposals presented to the IJB, while unwelcomed, are necessary to ensure the wellbeing of our patients and service users, and sustain the wider delivery of the best possible, integrated health and social care services now and into the future.”

The board heard that, in total, 60 beds were being taken out of circulation as it looked to fill the funding gap for the coming year.

The Abbey has 30 beds but was described as no longer being ‘fit for purpose’. Residents are being supported to find alternative places to live, with the aim to move them out by the end of the summer.

The Edington saw its nine-bed in-patient ward close ‘temporarily’ in 2021 as staff were transferred to East Lothian Community Hospital because of staffing issues there.

The ward will now shut permanently and the Edington site will continue to offer community health services.

Belhaven Hospital had six hospital beds, an NHS managed nursing home at Blossom House with 11 beds and community health hub.

Marilyn McNeil, a non-voting member of the board, pointed out that a consultation on provision of care for older people, started before Covid, was still ongoing and people had been told no closures would be made until alternatives were in place.

She said: “Is this a betrayal of the communities because they were told no decisions would be made until the consultation was complete?”

Officers acknowledged the consultation had not been completed but said they had been forced to make decisions faster than planned, insisting feedback from the ongoing discussions with the communities had led their findings.

The board was told that failing to approve the cuts as part of a budget proposal for the year ahead would leave it unable to balance its books.

The board voted by seven to one to approve the recommended budget, including the closures, with only Councillor Carol McFarlane, North Berwick Coastal ward member, voting against it.

'A real shame'

Kenny Miller, chair of North Berwick Community Council, said at the group’s meeting on Tuesday that a meeting was planned with East Lothian MSP Paul McLennan.

He said: “I have written to Paul McLennan and also to Pippa Swan from Dunbar Community Council. He has agreed to meet us and we will have members of the community council meet with him to discuss what we can do now.”

No date has yet been confirmed.

Member Sally Egan said on The Abbey: “I think the real issue at The Abbey is communication. How has this decision been communicated with staff and visitors?

“Has there been any consultation at all? We want to see documents to prove this has happened.”

Judy Lockhart-Hunter, vice-chair of the group, added: “I don’t think any of our concerns have been taken on board at all. Perhaps an emergency meeting [with Mr McLennan] would be a good idea.”

Mrs McFarlane, who was also at the meeting, added: “I was quite shocked by the sudden decision about The Abbey care home.

“I have visited the home and everyone there loves it. You get a sense of joy in the building. It is a real shame what is happening.”

Meanwhile, Jacquie Bell, a member of Dunbar Community Council, said the decisions taken on the Dunbar facilities would have a “major impact”, adding that it was “vital that the Belhaven site is retained for health and social care purposes”.