Activists have warned that a closure of the children's ward at St John's Hospital in Livingston for three weeks, which was announced by NHS Lothian earlier this week, is a trail run for the permanent relocation of the service to Edinburgh.

The hospital claims that the closure is due to short-term staffing crisis and will be only for three weeks from July 9. However, some reports suggest that the hospital is running a trail run through the summer period to know the public reaction about the closure and also to know if `whether they will get away with it from a clinical perspective', according to a source.

NHS Lothian Medical director Dr David Farquharson said, "We have confirmed our commitment to the children's ward at St John's Hospital time and time again. Reducing the service provided by the children's ward on a temporary basis has been a very difficult decision to make, but the risks of not taking this action are too great."

He also said that the staffing levels during summer time is so low that the hospital does not have any back-up members if any staff member is unable to report on time on short notice.