Royal Edinburgh psychiatric hospital to stay on current site

THE Capital's psychiatric hospital looks set to stay at its current location in Morningside after health chiefs outlined a masterplan for the site.

Sources in the health board have confirmed that NHS Lothian now thinks rebuilding the Royal Edinburgh on-site is the best plan for the future.

The news comes as a boost for patients' groups who long argued that the scenic surroundings at the sprawling hospital in Morningside were best suited to psychiatric rehabilitation.

It also spells the end for plans to transfer patients out to Little France to complete a trio of hospitals with the Royal Infirmary and the new Sick Kids hospital when it is built there in 2013.

Exact details for rebuilding the hospital have not yet been outlined, but it will gradually take place as historic buildings are either knocked down or renovated.

One hospital source said: "There is now a masterplan in place for the hospital on its current site. The talk is that this will be done in a phased manner, meaning the costs can be spread out over a period of time.

"This is definitely the best-case outcome for everyone. It's a unique place and you couldn't recreate that anywhere else."

The Patients' Council at the hospital had called on the health board to keep the hospital where it was, arguing the relationship built up with local residents and businesses would be difficult to re-establish elsewhere, especially in a vastly different area such as Little France.

There were also concerns that a move there would isolate patients who take comfort from the freedom of mingling with the Morningside community.

While the decision has been welcomed, it comes as a surprise given the outcome of an assessment last year which recommended moving.

Other options considered were moving some services to the Western General and St John's Hospital in Livingston, but with the possibility of modern buildings pulling the boundaries in, there is still an opportunity for NHS Lothian to sell some of the land, which is among the most valuable in Edinburgh, for development.

Lindsay Walls, former city councillor and treasurer of Morningside Community Council, said: "The Royal Edinburgh has been here for so long that I think it fits in pretty well to Morningside, and certainly adds a bit of colour to the place."

Jackie Sansbury, NHS Lothian's director of strategic planning and modernisation, said: "We have been working closely with the Patients' Council and staff on a feasibility study of the current site of the hospital.

"We will be developing more formal proposals."