One Year Delay For Care Home On Hospital Site

A new care home planned for the site of Edinburgh’s Eastern General Hospital is facing a delay of nearly one year. The council is due to open four new homes in the city to help tackle the problem of “bed blocking”, where patients are held in hospitals because they have nowhere else to go.

It was originally estimated that the new 60-bed care home at the Eastern General site on Seafield Road would be completed by summer 2008, but a council spokeswoman said the date has now been put back to spring 2009. “The slippage is due to the site not yet being available as it is still being used for health services,” the spokeswoman said.

The other care homes, all with 60 beds, will be located at Lochend, Craigmillar and north Merchiston. Two “interim” homes at Gogar and Musselburgh will be closed down and the 51 residents there will be rehoused at the new sites.

Peter Gabbitas, director of health and social care, said: “In addition to providing accommodation for the former residents of the interim care homes, each of the four new homes will also provide a number of new capacity beds.”