Astley Ainslie Hospital grounds, buildings, and services

Dear Lothian NHS Board,

Can you confirm if it is your intention to sell the land and
buildings of the Astley Ainslie Hospital? And when will this be?

Why do you want to dispose of this site?

Who is responsible for this decision?

What do you expect to gain from the sale?

Will there be a public consultation?

What will happen to the SMART centre?

Yours faithfully,

Marianne Clyde

Dear Lothian NHS Board,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Lothian NHS Board's
handling of my FOI request 'Astley Ainslie Hospital grounds,
buildings, and services'.

[The answer I received was evasive. It did not reply to all aspects
of my request. It did not mention the Initial Agreement (July 2011)
which states that the land and buildings of AAH are projected to be
disposed of in 2013 / 2014 (January 2013 is only 13 months away).
Specifically, the reply did not indicate a TIME FRAME. The reply as
to why land and buildings might be disposed of: 'to improve
services and healthcare' is a general statement but such major
decisions require robust and convincing justification. Which
services? Can you be more specific? And will the SMART centre move?
There was no response to this question. Neither was there a
response to: who is responsible for such decisions? The reply on
consultation: there will be a public consultation ONLY if land is
to be disposed of is closing the stable door once the horse has
bolted. We need to know now: WHICH services will go, and why
(exactly) do you want to remove them from this site and when will
you do so?

For clarification: Here are my original questions to which I would
like clearer answers:

1. Can you confirm if it is your intention to sell the land and
buildings of the AAH? (Reply: Unsatisfactory: we might. No mention
made of Initial Agreement, July 2011)

2. When will this be? (Reply: None. Unsatisfactory. No mention was
made of Initial Agreement document which indicates a timeframe of
2013 - 2014 for this.)

3. Why do you want to dispose of this site? (Reply: woolly and
evasive - to improve healthcare and facilities. Unsatisfactory.
This is not a reason to dispose of a site. Further explanation is
needed.Which services are currently on AAH and why will they be
removed and where will they be removed to and why will this be
better?)

4. Who is responsible for this decision? (Reply: none.
Unsatisfactory)

5. What do you expect to gain from this sale? (Reply.
Unsatisfactory. We don't know since no valuation has occurred. But
this makes the assumption that any receipts will go to NHS Lothian
and not to the Scottish Government. IS this the case? Can you
confirm? In what other ways might NHS Lothian benefit from the
sale? Will you be allowed to keep the annual revenue expenditure
for the AAH in your budget despite no longer having this site? Will
any value realised helped you with bids for funding for the
reprovisioning of the REH site? How, exactly does this work?

6. Will there be a public consultation? (Reply: Yes,but only if the
site is to be disposed of. Isn't this a bit late in the day to be
asking the public if they want the site disposed of? Public
consultation should take place at the stage of the Initial
Agreement - i.e., now - and not once decisions about the future of
the site and its services have in effect been taken.)

7. What will happen to the SMART centre? (Reply: none)

Please can you help clarify these points.

Thank you for your assistance.

Yours Sincerely

Marianne Clyde ]

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/as...

Yours faithfully,

Marianne Clyde