Campaigners have slammed the NHS for celebrating its “commitment” to the Vale of Leven Hospital – which they describe as a “shell” of what it once was.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) hailed its plan to invest a further £393,000 into the Vale of Leven (VoL) Hospital over the current financial year.

But Jim Moohan, chairman of Hospital Watch, claimed the cash, which brings the total invested in the hospital to £4.3m over the past five years, was spent on bringing the building up to minimum health and safety regulations – and not improving services.

He told the Reporter: “As a community, we’re grateful that there’s some investment within the infrastructure of the hospital.

“The investments we’re aware of has been for health and safety requirements. [The money] has been used to retain services, not increase service availability.

“The major services have been lost over the last decade, such as the emergency services in 2004 – it’s not one of retention.”

However, NHSGGC insists the cash has been used to improve and upgrade the fabric of the building including fire safety equipment, lighting and new lifts, adding £73,000 had been spent on new medical equipment.

David Loudon, director of property, procurement and facilities management at NHSGGC, said: “This latest tranche of investment in the Vale means the board will have directed more than £4 million of funding to the hospital in recent years. This is a significant sum of money and demonstrates the important role the Vale plays in the NHSGGC estate.

“We intend to keep investing in our hospitals and this money will be spent on improving the fabric and infrastructure of the Vale for the benefit of both staff and patients.

“We will do our very best to keep disruption to a minimum for patients and staff while this latest round of investment work is carried out.”

But Mr Moohan claimed many of the changes made by the NHS were merely cosmetic, such as renovating the main reception area, and he wants the board’s commitment to be to adding vital services to the once busy hospital.

He added: “From a community perspective, we have only seen the removal of services over the last five years as opposed to the implementation of funds which could have saved them.

“That’s something we’re going to bring up when we meet with the health board chiefs on August 31.”

Dumbarton and the Vale’s MSP Jackie Baillie called for more investment to be put into the hospital.

She said: “Any investment in the Vale of Leven Hospital is welcome but local NHS staff and patients want to see more substantial upgrades to the facilities and the fabric of the building at our local hospital.

“Of course it is right to replace the fire safety equipment and lighting but these are basic requirements and the health board needs to do more than just the minimum.

“The latest health board papers said that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde still had another £7m left in this year’s capital budget and I believe that the Vale of Leven Hospital should get the lion’s share of this investment.

“Any money left in the pot should be earmarked for projects at the Vale of Leven Hospital especially when so much of the hospital estate across Glasgow has already been refurbished or rebuilt in recent years.”