North Berwick Rugby Club, Tantallon Golf Club and Meg Maitland Broadcast Support for Edington Campaign

Fourteen months since vital healthcare services were stripped from the Edington Cottage Hospital in North Berwick, three influential organisations have put their weight behind a campaign to keep awareness of the ongoing closure in the public consciousness.

North Berwick Rugby Club, Tantallon Golf Club and Meg Maitland have all used their voices in a social media campaign to underline how sport, leisure and tourism and retail are all part of the rich fabric of a thriving community.

In the videos each highlights the importance of their respective interests to the health and wellbeing of residents and how the impact of not having those facilities would be felt widely by the people who use them and rely on them.

Meg Maitland, who has had a shop on North Berwick High Street for 15 years, said: “If we didn’t have a High Street, we wouldn’t have a vibrant community of people who help each other out.”

Her father was also cared for at the Edington and Meg talks about how meaningful it was to be able to visit him every day. “The Edington was an absolute godsend,” she added. “Being able to easily pop in and see him, seeing the same kind familiar faces in the nursing team - it was a huge comfort to both myself and my dad. The excellent care he received there meant he was able to return home rather than going into care.”

Jason Martin, development officer at North Berwick Rugby Football Club, said: “Without rugby, without the Club, it would be a huge loss, not only to the players and the coaches, but also to all the other people who are integral to the Club.”

This was a sentiment echoed by Fraser Symon, captain elect at Tantallon Golf Club, who added that “we just couldn’t imagine life without golf.”

The hospital has been closed for in-patient and minor injuries services since September 2021. At the last review meeting on 22nd November with NHS officials, the Campaign Steering Group heard that there were no concrete plans to reinstate the pre-closure services – 9 beds offering respite, palliative and end-of-life care and Minor Injuries. Apart from two palliative care beds available at the Abbey Care Home and a potential further two at the new Tantallon Nursing Home, there were no specific proposals for what other services might be operated from the wards in the future.

David Robertson, chair of Friends of the Edington, said: “We are very grateful to everyone at North Berwick Rugby Club and Tantallon Golf Club and to Meg for getting behind our campaign and illustrating that, if you take something away from people that is universally valued, the ramifications are huge. We hope that what they have to say will resonate with everyone watching and encourage them to do what they can to support our campaign and show that the Edington hasn’t been forgotten.”