Firstly, thank you everyone for taking the time to complete my survey about the closures of Belhaven and Blossom House Care Home. It is very much appreciated, the stories and data we collected helped convey the publics concerns.
Councillor Donna Collins and I have met with senior managers at the East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership for an update on the social care and wider healthcare situation following the closure of the Belhaven and Blossom House Care Home facilities.
At this stage, I am afraid to say that it appears clear that the decision to close the facility will not be reconsidered by the NHS and East Lothian Council.
Through wider discussion with the ELHSCP, I have confirmed that:
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The decision to close the facility in an urgent way was taken because of concerns regarding fire safety and health and safety.
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The Belhaven Hospital site will be vacated by NHS Lothian.
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There are no plans to provide additional council operated care home beds in the local area, and any additional capacity would be through additional funded beds in care homes operated by the independent sector.
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Future provision is likely to focus on the expansion of home community support to support care provided in a person’s own home where clinically appropriate, with the NHS and East Lothian Council looking to expand the use of home-based care to meet changing patterns of demand.
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There are no plans for Ward six at East Lothian Community Hospital to be reallocated for other use.
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There are no plans to provide a stand-alone Minor Injuries Unit in East Lothian, although minor injuries can be addressed locally, at present, in several ways.
In relation to additional services, Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services continue to be available throughout the county.
These are located both in individual GP practices and at centralised locations where:
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Patients can access services provided by trained nursing staff.
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Your GP Practice will be kept up to date on your management, and involved in your care, should it be necessary.
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You can visit any of the CTACs sites, whether there is a service located in your local practice or a site close to where you are going to be during the day.
There are two larger CTACs bases located at:
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East Lothian Community Hospital
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Musselburgh Primary Care Centre
In addition, there are several smaller sites across East Lothian:
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Dunbar Health Centre
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Cockenzie Health Centre
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North Berwick - Edington Hospital
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Prestonpans Health Centre
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Tranent Health Centre
I understand local concerns and fully support residents’ desire for local care home beds to be provided close to the community and pleased this is supported by the HSCP as well. I will continue to explore the impact of the decision to close the Belhaven Hospital site.
I know this update will be disappointing to the community and I will continue to press the NHS and the council to ensure that there is adequate local care and healthcare provision for residents.
As always, I am keen to engage and happy to help on this and other issues.
