02/09/2026
Today is a very sad day for the village and for The friends Of Insch Hospital and Community.
The trustees and Friends of Insch Hospital need to be thanked for their relentless efforts trying to get Insch hospital open again. So much time and effort has gone into the process. 💔
Today, the Integration Joint Board voted to permanently close Insch War Memorial Hospital.
Built in memory to those who gave their lives in the First World War, the hospital has been in the community for more than a century.
Following the closure, Gordon and Buchan MP Harriet Cross, who has campaigned to save the hospital, said: “The decision to permanently close Insch War Memorial Hospital marks a dark day for access to local healthcare, both in Insch and the wider North East.
“It undoubtably goes against the needs of the Insch community and the outcome of the public consultation, which showed overwhelming support to keep the hospital operational.
“This is an incredibly sad outcome to an issue which will have a lasting negative impact on residents in the community.
“During the meeting, we heard that war memorial hospitals in other parts of the country had been repurposed, yet no effort has been made to refurbish Insch.
“The reason why the condition of Insch has deteriorated is because it has been closed for the past six years and the maintenance of the building has been abandoned.
“As one of only four such war memorial buildings of its kind in Scotland, it’s imperative the journey to preserving this facility does not stop and I will now be writing to NHS Grampian asking what its next steps are.”
Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, who has also campaigned to save the hospital, added: “I’m deeply disappointed by this decision, which is another example of the erosion of rural healthcare across the North East.
“For a century, the hospital has provided vital services to residents, but like many rural areas, Insch has seen its healthcare centralised away from the local community.
“It was clear from the IJB meeting that the concerns of residents had not been listened to by Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership, and the results of the public consultation had been completely ignored.
“Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government should be ashamed of themselves for breaking the promise they made to reopen the hospital as part of an election visit to Insch in 2021, which has now left residents in this helpless position.
“It’s vital the building is now safeguarded, which is why I, along with my colleague Harriet Cross MP, will be writing to NHS Grampian to ascertain the future use of this historic site to ensure it remains in the heart of the community.”
