Dementia patients at closure-threatened Lightburn Hospital can’t be properly looked after because the building is not fit for purpose, staff have revealed.

Medics at the run down facility in the east end of Glasgow claim people are being put at risk and questioned whether the hospital should be saved.

A so-called “discussion paper” produced by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde includes an option to shut Lightburn Hospital as part of plans to make £60million of cuts.

Whistleblowers at the hospital have told The Evening Times that “a large number” of dementia patients are being housed at Lightburn which they insist has an unsuitable layout.

They fear confused elderly people could wander off or suffer falls because there aren’t enough nurses to look after them.

It has been claimed that blankets must be placed at crumbling window frames to stop drafts and staff can’t get a hot meal at the site because a canteen is closed.

One worker, who asked not to be named, said: “We are now seeing petitions to save Lightburn but if people were to visit the hospital they would see the state of the day hospital and that there are only two wards in use with not enough staff to care for the type of patient that we are now receiving.

“The layout for dementia patients is not suitable in the wards in Lightburn and they expect one health care assistant to work in a bay of six dementia patients that are at risk of falling or wandering due to their confused, delirious condition.

“This is a rehabilitation ward but we have a lot of patients who have dementia and at past study days regarding dementia we were told that you can't rehabilitate patients with that condition.

“We still have two wards lying empty, a day hospital that is beyond repair, and no canteen facilities for the staff to have a hot meal despite a kitchen lying vacant.”

Another worker, who also opted to remain anonymous, said: “We are presently only operating with two wards which were rehabilitation wards for orthopaedic and medical, but we are receiving a large quantity of dementia patients, which is a specialised area.

“We do not have the proper staffing levels to look after these patients and the wards do not have the proper layout, resulting in a very stressful environment for both staff and patients. Morale is very low at the hospital.

“The day hospital is in such disrepair that there is tape at the front of the entrance to stop people walking under it. We have a kitchen which is no longer in use and there are no facilities where staff can have a hot meal on site.

“They spent a lot of money on a recreational garden, money which would have been better spent on repairing the windows in the wards that are so drafty that we need to put blankets on the sills to stop the cold.

“Over the years they have given us so many reason why wards were closed, one being that one of the wards was not suitable for emergency vehicles like fire engines to reach, but that ward is now occupied by patients.

“One of the wards is being used to house the fridges that contain the patients’ meals. It’s strange that the kitchen is not used for this purpose.

“They keep saying that they are going to be spending money to fix the hospital but as we all know that is not happening.”

Trade union, Unison, which represents many of the workers at the hospital said they will campaign to keep it open but warned that more staff must be deployed.

Regional Organiser Matt McLaughlin said: “There is an issue about training, staffing and resources and if staff feel nobody is listening that would be something we would echo.

“We have for a long time had regular reports (about this) from staff at Lightburn and what generally happens is local branch officials get involved, staffing levels are sorted for a wee while and then of course they peter out again.

“Quite frankly some senior staff are happy to manage their budget by making sure that staffing levels don’t go up. I can’t talk specifically for Lightburn, that would be unfair, but we know in other areas that what they don’t do is maybe bring in a bank nurse or somebody to do extra hours and do what we would call one-to-ones and sit with an extremely ill patients. It’s far from ideal, that’s for sure.”

He added: “There is also a very simplistic view taken (by some managers) that a nurse is a nurse is a nurse and of course that’s not the case.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “It is of concern to us that some staff consider that Lightburn Hospital is not fit for purpose.

“There are two 28-bedded geriatric rehabilitation wards and a day hospital situated within Lightburn. Both wards care for a range of elderly patients who have been assessed as requiring a period of rehabilitation to improve their health and mobility, and some of our patients do indeed have dementia as an underlying condition.

“In order to improve the physical environment within the hospital, we have recently created a dementia garden which was designed in conjunction with our Alzheimer's Scotland Dementia Nurse Consultant to support such patients within the hospital.

“We accept that our current day hospital facility is not fit for purpose and work is progressing in creating a new day hospital facility within the main hospital.

“Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and the Improvement Lead from the 'Focus on Dementia' team at the Scottish Government, are currently involved in collaborative work with us in the hospital.

“Learning from this work will help inform the Scottish Government's expectations on how we report progress against the 10 care actions which form part of the National Dementia Strategy.

“Staffing levels within both wards at Lightburn Hospital are in line with patient dependency requirements and nurse staffing levels have recently been enhanced. Staffing levels are monitored twice daily as part of the daily hospital "huddles".

“In situations when staff shortages are identified as a result of unforeseen circumstances such as sickness absence, every effort is made by the senior management team to support the service in maintaining safe staffing levels through the use of bank and agency nursing.”

The spokeswoman added: “We can also confirm that following interviews last week, five new staff have been recruited to the nursing team within the hospital.”