FAMILIES have demanded a meeting with the Health Secretary after plans were formally approved to shut a children’s ward at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board members voted by a majority of 20 to seven yesterday to shut the inpatient ward (15) and transfer services to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

The final decision will now rest with Shona Robison as the plans have been designated a major service change.

Families have cited concerns about the loss of a local, cherished service and lack of public transport links to the Govan hospital. Four separate petitions have been handed in to the health board opposing the change with 3000 signatures. 

A government spokesman said the Health Secretary would be happy to meet with parents, “to help inform” her final decision.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said no argument had been put forward during the public consultation that was stronger than the clinical case for transferring inpatient and day case care to the new children’s hospital.

Dr Jennifer Armstrong, Medical Director for NHSGGC, said children being treated at the RAH do not have round-the-clock access to specialists, unlike young patients being treated in Glasgow.

She said around 100 children had been transferred to the new hospital last year for specialised treatment, not available at the RAH.

Addressing concerns raised about the loss of a local service, Catriona Renfrew, Director of Planning, said: “From the board’s point of view, we are providing a very accessible children’s service compared to the rest of Scotland.”

Ms Renfrew cited a recent decision by the Health Secretary to approve plans to axe a service in Edinburgh for cleft lip and palate surgery and centralise care at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.

The leader of Renfrewshire Council, Mark MacMillan was among the seven board members who voted against the change.

He said: “People see this as another example of community services being stripped away.”

Jack Davidson, whose daughter is a long-term patient at the ward, said: “We would like Shona Robison to come to Paisley and meet families.

“This is one of the most deprived areas in Scotland we would like her to see how this is going to impact on us.”

Fiona Mack, whose baby son was cared for at the RAH, said: “We are not surprised by the decision but we are disappointed.

“We will just carry on with the campaign. There are 
still a lot of people who don’t even know this is happening.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The health board’s decision to approve the proposed changes to paediatric inpatients and day cases at the Royal Alexandra Hospital will now be submitted to the Health Secretary for further consideration. 

“Ms Robison would be happy to meet with parents and their representatives to help inform her final decision on the proposals.” 

The health board has said that outpatient services, the specialist Community Paediatric service (PANDA), and emergency care for those who self-refer will all remain at the RAH.

It said that around £800,000 would be saved annually by the transfer of inpatient service which would be invested in extra neonatal nurses at the Paisley hospital.

Hollywood actor Gerard Butler is among the celebrity supporters of the campaign to save the ward.