Questions over proposed national reorganisation
Livingston Labour MP Gregor Poynton has called for urgent assurances over the future of orthopaedic services at St John's Hospital, amid reports of a major restructuring of planned surgery across Scotland.
The intervention follows the leaking of a five-year document setting out proposals for elective orthopaedic care between 2026 and 2031. The plans are understood to suggest that some operations could increasingly be concentrated in regional centres, including specialist facilities and National Treatment Centres, in an effort to improve efficiency.
Mr Poynton has written to Health Secretary Angela Constance asking for a categorical guarantee that services currently delivered at St John's will not be removed, reduced or transferred elsewhere as a consequence of the proposed changes. Ms Constance is also the SNP MSP for Almond Valley, the Scottish Parliament constituency covering the Livingston area.
Concerns over travel and hospital capacity
The Livingston MP said local patients needed clarity about what the proposals would mean in practice. He also raised concerns that people could be required to travel further for treatment if planned orthopaedic operations were moved to regional locations.
“St John's Hospital plays a vital role in serving communities across Livingston constituency and West Lothian, and local patients deserve clarity.”
The leaked document, entitled Transforming Elective Orthopaedic Care in Scotland 2026-2031, reportedly envisages a system in which patients are told that travelling for surgery “is to be expected”. The proposals have been reported as placing greater emphasis on specialist regional “centres of excellence” and National Treatment Centres, although the source material does not establish that a final decision has been made about St John's.
Wider implications raised by clinicians
Mr Poynton's concerns extend beyond the convenience or inconvenience of travelling to another hospital. He referred to warnings from senior clinicians that removing elective surgery from district general hospitals could have wider consequences for the other services that support hospital care.
- Possible effects on emergency surgery provision.
- Potential implications for anaesthetic services.
- Concerns about intensive care capacity at hospitals such as St John's.
Those issues are particularly significant in considering the role of a district general hospital. The argument raised by the Livingston MP is that planned operations do not exist in isolation: changes to orthopaedic work could affect the staffing, expertise and supporting infrastructure connected with other forms of treatment. The source material does not say that any of those services are due to close, but records concern that a substantial transfer of elective surgery could have consequences beyond waiting lists.
Dispute over proposed waiting-time ambition
Mr Poynton has also questioned the timescale for reducing waits contained in the leaked plan. The document is said to work towards a maximum waiting period of 26 weeks by 2031. He contrasted that with the Scottish Government's commitment to restore the statutory 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee by March 2029.
| Issue | Position reported in the source |
|---|---|
| Leaked plan | Maximum 26-week wait by 2031 |
| Government commitment | Restore the 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee by March 2029 |
| Local concern | Future of orthopaedic services at St John's Hospital |
The contrast has prompted questions about how the proposed national model would fit with existing commitments on access to treatment. Mr Poynton is seeking an explanation from the Scottish Government and a clear statement about whether services at St John's will remain available to patients in Livingston and across West Lothian.
No final local decision reported
The proposals remain leaked plans rather than a confirmed announcement about the hospital's future. No response from Ms Constance or the Scottish Government is included in the source material, and no timetable for a decision affecting St John's is given.
For residents, the immediate issue is therefore one of clarity: whether the planned reorganisation would alter where local people receive orthopaedic care, how far they may have to travel, and what effect any change would have on the wider services provided at St John's. Mr Poynton's letter places those questions directly with the health secretary as discussions over Scotland's future elective care arrangements continue.
