Welcome
The Friends of the Edington is a Scottish Registered Charity (SC014443) which was set up in 1990 to support the Edington Hospital.
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For over three decades the Friends have purchased medical equipment for the hospital, funded the cost of therapy and comforts for in-patients and paid for nursing staff to attend specialist training courses.
This has only been possible because of the generous donations received from the local community and local organisations, and occasional legacies from former patients or members of the public. As a result of the support from the Friends the hospital was exceptionally well equipped and the nursing staff had the best facilities and the optimum skills to provide a high level of care.
In September 2021, the East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership (ELHSCP) announced the 'temporary' closure of the Edington Hospital. At that time, all the in-patients were transferred to other locations and the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) was closed. Despite periodic reviews of this decision, the services formerly provided by the Edington Hospital have not been reinstated, though the building itself continues to be used by NHS Lothian for physiotherapy and nursing services (within restricted hours) and as a vaccination centre.
The Friends were active in campaigning for the reopening of the hospital or the reprovisioning of the services which it formerly provided, in conjunction with the North Berwick Community Council and the North Berwick Health and Wellbeing Association, and we organised various events and demonstrations in the town to highlight our concern.
Although extremely disappointed that the Hospital will not now be re-opened as an in-patient unit, it would not be an appropriate use of the Friends’ assets to finance any further campaigning. The Trustees are therefore now utilising their assets in other ways to achieve their charitable purpose.