Intensive care beds at Ayr Hospital will be moved to Crosshouse, as the health board deals with continuing pressures.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran say that critical care services will still be offered at both hospitals, but the three current level 3 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in University Hospital Ayr will transfer to Crosshouse on an interim basis.

The news comes just three month after Scottish Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, and the Ayrshire health board said there were "absolutely no plans" to move ICU services away from Ayr.

After MSP Sharon Dowey raised concerns about a potential shake-up, NHS Ayrshire & Arran bosses said that "any core service change would require a public consultation".

However, they have said that this current move will only be on an "interim basis" and that no services will be lost as a result of the change.

Joanne Edwards, Director of Acute Services at NHS Ayrshire & Arran said: "Within NHS Ayrshire & Arran, critical care services are currently provided from both University Hospitals Ayr and Crosshouse, with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU) in each.

"However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain the current critical care service model on the University Hospital Ayr site. To maintain the safety and sustainability of critical care services across the organisation, we need to make changes to how the service operates.  

"While critical care services will continue to be provided from both University Hospitals Ayr and Crosshouse, the three current level 3 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in University Hospital Ayr will transfer to Crosshouse on an interim basis."

Ms Edwards added: "It is important to note that we are not ‘losing’ any beds. The three ICU beds in Ayr will be added to the existing ICU bed footprint in Crosshouse.

"Transferring these beds to Crosshouse will ensure safe and sustainable critical care services in both University Hospitals Ayr and Crosshouse.

"Patients with the highest acuity clinical needs will have access to an Intensive Care Medicine (ICM) Consultant 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"This will also reduce the burden on anaesthetic colleagues in University Hospital Ayr. 

"We will also enhance the current level 2 high dependency bed provision in Ayr, through the input of consultant intensivists to these beds during core weekday hours."