Health / Lib Dems lodge motion for new hospital
THE LIBERAL Democrats have lodged a motion calling on the Scottish Government to commit to a full, new-build replacement of the ageing Gilbert Bain hospital in Lerwick.
The motion was filed by leader Alex Cole-Hamilton on Thursday (14 May), the first day of the parliamentary term that MSPs were able to submit motions to the Scottish Government.
Commenting on the motion, Cole-Hamilton said: “Island communities such as Shetland deserve world-class healthcare as much as any part of Scotland.
“Beatrice Wishart fought to secure a commitment to a replacement hospital and Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to make that a top priority.
“The Gilbert Bain is more than 60 years old and it’s clear that the facilities are showing their age. I was shocked when Beatrice told me that the lifts are so old that there is only one engineer capable of fixing them. If they are on holiday and a lift breaks, it cannot be fixed. That’s not good enough.”
The hospital ended up becoming something of political football during the recent election campaign in Shetland.
SNP candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad, who was elected for Shetland, said a new hospital was needed.
However, the Lib Dems criticised the SNP for only including refurbishment of the Gilbert Bain in its election manifesto.
Work had been undertaken by NHS Shetland on the prospect of a new hospital, but it was put on ice by the Scottish Government amid financial pressures.
NHS Shetland then confirmed last year that it would need to undertake “essential exterior repair works” at the hospital with parts of the building’s external walls to be removed and reclad to make them wind and watertight.
The condition of the walls were highlighted in a recent risk register report at an NHS Shetland meeting, with a temporary steel mesh part of the solution.
When the repair project was announced in spring 2025 the estimated cost was £10 million, but this has now risen.
Cole-Hamilton said that with Alistair Carmichael at Westminster and regional MSP Morven-May MacCallum representing the Highlands and Islands, “we will ensure that there is no gap in the service that the people of Shetland get from our party”.
“I hope that the SNP will back our motion and commit to a full, new build replacement of the Gilbert Bain Hospital,” he added.
In the recent election the Lib Dems lost their hold of the Shetland constituency seat to Goodlad and the SNP, having had it since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.
The motion is as follows: “That the Parliament calls on the Scottish Government to commit to a full, new-build replacement of the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland; notes that the existing hospital was opened in 1961 and has faced severe weathering and degradation in the decades since; believes that this risks leaving health services in Shetland in an unacceptable situation unless action is taken; commends NHS Shetland staff for their dedication and commitment to high quality services despite the challenges facing them; believes that island communities such as Shetland deserve world-class healthcare as much as any part of Scotland, and calls on the Scottish Government ministers to engage urgently with NHS Shetland and deliver a new-build hospital for Shetland.”
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