It's time Sick Kids got a home fit for the 21st century

With vital services safe a new hospital is now a must, says George Foulkes.

I RECENTLY visited our Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh, and I couldn't have been more impressed with the facility, its staff and, of course, the children who depend on the specialist services it provides.

Until recently, the future of the Sick Kids in Edinburgh was under threat as a proposal to centralise specialist services to Glasgow was looming over the heads of staff, parents and children – a situation that resulted in a great deal of anxiety, anger and frustration for the people whose lives depend on the unit remaining local to ease the strain of an already difficult and challenging set of circumstances.

I got involved in the campaign to retain these services along with around 20,000 people who signed the petition to save the Sick Kids and who all appreciated the central part played by the Evening News in this campaign. This hard-fought campaign resulted in the Health Minister, Shona Robison ruling out a move to centralise neurological services to Glasgow.

The sense of relief was evident amongst all those I met at the Sick Kids. I witnessed doctors, nurses and support staff doing a remarkably professional, skilled and essential job in supporting sick children and their families both clinically and emotionally.

The warm atmosphere that greeted me on arrival gave me a sense of the ethos that has been present there for many years. The experience and compassion of the staff shone through which, supported by appropriate resource and provision, makes this unit a centre of excellence.

But whilst we had been given the welcome assurance that Edinburgh's Sick Kids Hospital will continue to provide specialist neurological services, the future of the facility remained uncertain as the retention of specialist cancer services at that stage hadn't been confirmed. In addition, NHS Lothian has existing plans to relocate the Sick Kids hospital to Little France and are still awaiting approval by the Scottish Government to go ahead with the project.

Since the Labour-led Scottish Executive approved NHS Lothian's initial agreement to replace the existing building in 2006 a lot of hard work has gone into making this dream a reality and a public consultation showed a majority of 98 per cent support for the move.

The Health Minister's announcement today to keep specialist cancer services in Edinburgh is very welcome and strengthens the case being put to the Scottish Government to approve the plans for a new Sick Kids hospital.

It was apparent to me that the hospital services were used to full capacity on a regular basis and therefore more up-to-date facilities would make this environment and service better for those who use it and run it.

The level of commitment that I saw from staff was superb and they deserve the very best working environment that allows them to deliver the highest level of care possible.

With both specialist neurological and cancer services now secure, NHS Lothian will need to finalise its plans for the new hospital at Little France, approve it as part of their financial plan and seek the approval of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will need to move quickly on this so that we can have this new facility up and running as soon as possible. I will continue to put pressure on ministers to work with NHS Lothian, involving staff, patients' representatives and parliament to move in the right direction now, so that we can see a facility that is loved fit for 21st century health care by 2012, continuing to serve patients in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.

• George Foulkes is a Labour MSP for the Lothians