Health chiefs say there’s no need to hang on to the old Brechin Infirmary for medical reasons, as they await an overdue decision on whether the hospital site can be cleared for housing.
And they are confident that even with hundreds of new homes being built in the town the local health centre has capacity for thousands more patients.
It is eight years since the infirmary closed its doors.
Community hub hopes crushed
Since then, Brechin Healthcare Group has seen its hopes of creating a community health hub on the site dashed.
NHS Tayside rejected the campaigners’ application for a community asset transfer of the site.
A Scottish Government appeal dismissal was the fatal blow to their ambitions.
And that paved the way for NHS Tayside to bring forward a planning application to clear the site for residential development.
The Infirmary Street land could accommodate more than 40 new homes.
The demolition bid was lodged last summer, but is yet to be determined by Angus Council.
However, a decision could be on the horizon after the health body delivered the figures to back up their position that the infirmary site will not be needed for any future expansion of the neighbouring health centre.
“Primary healthcare has never been delivered from the site of the former Brechin Infirmary,” says a consultant’s report.
“Notwithstanding this, it is understood Angus Council wishes to establish whether some or all of the land could potentially be required in the future as an expansion of the adjacent Brechin Health Centre.”
Experts have calculated the Brechin Health Centre is capable of accommodating more than 12,500 patients.
They used standard ratios and floorspace guidelines from the Scottish Futures Trust for the calculation.
The health centre’s current patient list is almost 8,650.
So they say there is surplus capacity for nearly 3,900 new patients.
Brechin growth
And the consultants suggest future patient demand from new housing will not come close to that figure.
There are more than 400 homes programmed for sites in and around the town.
Those are predicted to generate 1,012 new patients in total.
And the consultants’ calculations include nearly 100 people forecast to join the health centre list if the 44 homes planned for the infirmary site are built.
In statistics released last year by Public Health Scotland, Brechin Medical Practice based at the health centre performed poorly in a patient satisfaction survey.
Patients gave their thoughts on the overall care they’ve received as well as specific points about how they thought their last GP appointment went.
Brechin was the worst performer in Angus with just 30% positive feedback.
When will the decision be made?
Angus Council say they hope the application will be determined soon.
They had set a determination deadline of last September for the application.
But it’s yet to be decided whether councillors will be given the final say.
“The applicant has submitted additional information and that is in the process of being considered by officers,” the council said.
“Once that information has been assessed, officers will determine whether the application should be decided using delegated powers or by reference to committee.
“That assessment will be concluded as quickly as possible.”
