A GLASGOW MSP has welcomed a letter from the health board stating it is increasing staff and looking at improvements to a hospital that was saved from closure.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde wanted to shut down Lightburn Hospital in the East End which provided services for older people, including rehabilitation after a stroke.

Shona Robison, then Health Secretary, rejected the plan earlier this year and told the board to invest and improve services at the site.

Ivan McKee, Glasgow Provan SNP MSP, has seen a letter from the board to a constituent setting out the current position and some plans for the future.

The letter states the board is working to ensure the hospital “provides safe and effective care for all patients, whether inpatients, outpatients, or those using the Day Hospital facility”.

It added that work to improve the fabric of the building, which had been largely boarded up before the closure plan was rejected, has been carried out and meetings have taken place to identify where more improvements can be made.

The letter continued: “Nursing staff levels have been enhanced and we have a Lead Nurse based at the site who oversees this on a daily basis.”

Mr McKee, along with other MSPs and local health campaigners who argued for the hospital to be retained, welcomed the response.

He said: “I’m very pleased the Board appear to be making good on the directive to improve and invest in Lightburn Hospital.

"I’m planning to meet with the Chief Executive of the Board early in the New Year to hear how they will ensure that high quality health and social care services are available locally to the people of the East End of Glasgow”.

It was the second time the health board had been refused permission to close the hospital after Nicola Sturgeon, when she was Health Secretary in 2011, also rejected a closure plan.

The constituent who wrote to the health board also asked if there was a time limit on how long the board would keep Lightburn open.

The board said there was no timescale and it was looking at expanding services .

The response stated: “There are no plans to limit the timescales for remaining on the Lightburn site and we are reviewing all options to identify additional services that could be relocated to the site from elsewhere in the board area.”

A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “We regularly review services to ensure we are delivering the best care to our patients and this includes Lightburn Hospital.

“Three new nurses have been appointed to vacancies at the hospital and will play an important role in delivering patient centred care.”