Elderly ward moves home

A 15-BED ward for the elderly is to be created at the city’s psychiatric hospital.

The facility, previously housed at the current Royal Victoria Hospital in Craigleith, will cater for patients with such conditions as dementia.

Bosses said the move of ward one to the Royal Edinburgh hospital would finally allow for the demolition of the Royal Victoria, which is moving to a new site at the Western General.

Some health chiefs initially raised concerns about the merits of having a ward with so many beds when dealing with a complex illness. But bosses also accepted that keeping the current Royal Victoria open for the sake of only one ward was not cost efficient.