WEST FIFE politicians fear that cuts to out-of-hours services at Queen Margaret Hospital could be the start of centralisation of health services in the Kingdom.

Last week, the Press reported that out-of-hours services will only be provided at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy between midnight and 8am for the next three months. It means that, although out-of-hours operations will run from 6pm-midnight Monday to Friday, and from 8am-midnight on weekends and public holidays, they will only be provided between midnight and 8am at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital.

The drastic action was implemented by Fife Health and Social Care Partnership after they admitted they were unable to cover all shifts due to nursing and medical staff shortages.

Alex Rowley MSP has written to the health minister and the Partnership demanding more answers and transparency. He told the Press: “Fife Health and Social Care Partnership believes there are issues around sustainability with the out-of-hours service not just through the night but also in the evenings and weekends with being able to staff these services and indeed they say themselves the model will not continue in its current form.

“I believe that we must, given the population of Dunfermline and West Fife, make the case for all current services being provided at the Queen Margaret Hospital to continue to be provided there.

“So far, the extent of the Partnership’s consultation is that they tell us what they are going to do, so the decision is made and then they seek our views. This is not the way to make decisions about the future delivery of health and social care in the Dunfermline and West Fife area.

“I also think it is important that we know the true extent of the financial gap the Partnership is working under as I fear that the state of the Partnership’s finances is driving a cost-cutting agenda and centralising services is one way of cutting costs.”

Councillor Helen Law also agreed that this could be the start of something more permanent. She added: “This was always the fear when services started being lost in Dunfermline. It really is a bad blow to the community.

“People still feel bitter from the loss of services over the years and are nervous about what’s going to happen in the future.

“Dunfermline has a growing population and there is a development right on Queen Margaret’s doorstep. It really is heartbreaking when you see a hospital sat there with a few lights on at night.”

In his letter, Mr Rowley asked the Partnership for more details on the extent of the problem in terms of the number of GP shortages and what plans were in place for people without transport.

Claire Dobson, divisional general manager (west) said: “Nationally and in Fife, Primary Care Emergency Services (PCES) and other urgent care services are under considerable pressure. This is due partly to increasing demand as well as the availability of doctors and nurses.

“Many of the doctors and nurses working in the service also work in daytime general practice, which limits the time that they are able to commit to PCES. GPs are independent contractors who can, and do, accept shifts on an ad-hoc basis.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had to take immediate action in Fife to ensure we can continue to deliver a clinically safe and sustainable service over the next few months. But we will continue to develop our plans for longer-term measures for urgent care and will consult the public before any permanent decisions are made.

“If someone needs to attend Victoria Hospital out-of-hours and cannot drive, we ask if a family member or friend can help or, if that’s not possible, if the patient can take a taxi. However, if this can’t be organised or is not suitable, we will arrange for a clinician to call the patient and take appropriate measures.”

Mr Rowley also asked the Scottish Government what it was doing to resolve the issue of staffing shortages in Fife. He wrote: “A crisis is engulfing our NHS and we must act before it spirals further out of control.

“I urge you to look into this development and take appropriate measures to address the problem.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “We expect Fife Health and Social Care Partnership to work within the resources available to meet patients’ needs. Clinical staff and partners across Fife are working to develop a long-term solution and a public consultation will commence in June prior to any permanent decisions being made. The Scottish Government will continue to liaise with NHS Fife throughout their review process.

“We are increasing the primary care budget to 11 per cent of the total NHS frontline budget by 2021/22. We want a high-quality out-of-hours service which fully meets patient needs and we have invested £20 million over the past two years to take forward the recommendations made in an independent review into out-of-hours care.”